Cairns Sea Temperature

Looking to find out what the sea water temperature in Cairns is for today and the next few days? Below are data and charts that will give you information about sea temperatures in Cairns and nearby locations.

Water temperature in Cairns right now

Below is the current sea temperature for Cairns, Australia on 6th July 2025.

24.83° C

(76.7° F)

  • yesterday: 25.08° C (77.15° F)
  • a week ago: 24° C (75.2° F)

Water at this temperature is very pleasant to swim in and if you tend to wear a wetsuit when swimming, you might consider removing it now to avoid the body overheating.

The average sea temperature for Cairns on July 6th over the last 10 years is 23.93° C (75.08° F), with a low temperature of 22.74° C (72.93° F) and a high of 25.35° C (77.63° F).

Analysis and forecast for Cairns water temperatures

The water temperature in Cairns today is higher than the average temperature of 23.93° C (75.08° F) and the temperature on this day last year, 6th July 2024, was 24.88° C (76.78° F).

The chart and table below shows the change in water temperature in Cairns over the last 30 days:

Date Temperature (Celsius) Temperature (Fahrenheit)
July 6 24.83° C 76.7° F
July 5 25.08° C 77.15° F
July 2 23.59° C 74.46° F
July 1 23.74° C 74.73° F
June 30 23.8° C 74.84° F
June 29 24° C 75.2° F
June 28 24.11° C 75.4° F
June 27 24.36° C 75.85° F
June 26 23.88° C 74.98° F
June 25 24.18° C 75.52° F
June 24 23.82° C 74.88° F
June 23 23.93° C 75.07° F
June 22 23.94° C 75.09° F
June 21 24.19° C 75.54° F
June 20 24.21° C 75.58° F
June 19 24.36° C 75.85° F
June 18 24.48° C 76.06° F
June 17 24.71° C 76.48° F
June 16 24.83° C 76.69° F
June 15 24.87° C 76.77° F
June 14 25.04° C 77.07° F
June 13 25.18° C 77.32° F
June 12 25.33° C 77.59° F
June 11 25.35° C 77.63° F
June 10 25.45° C 77.81° F
June 9 25.6° C 78.08° F
June 8 25.74° C 78.33° F
June 7 25.74° C 78.33° F
June 6 25.77° C 78.39° F
June 5 25.93° C 78.67° F
June 4 25.98° C 78.76° F

The actual nearshore temperatures may vary by several degrees and this can also be heavily affected by weather. Strong winds can cause cold, deep waters to replace the surface waters that had been warmed by the sun, and heavy rain can also reduce the temperature of the sea surface temperature as well.

Water temperature in Cairns by month

The chart below shows the monthly average water temperature in Cairns.

For more detailed information on how the sea temperature in Cairns changes for each month of the year, choose from the months below.

Cairns map and nearby water temperatures

Locations near Cairns

The highest temperature in Australia today is 26.83° C (80.3° F) in Darwin. The lowest is in Port Phillip Bay, where the temperature of the water is 11.97° C (53.55° F).

Why measure sea surface temperatures (SST) in Cairns?

The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, and scientists record the sea surface temperature (SST) of locations such as Cairns because they want to understand and learn how the ocean communicates with the atomosphere of Earth.

SST is one measure that provides information on the global climate, and it can be used to predict the weather in Cairns as well as atmospheric model simulations and to study marine ecosystems in the area.

Data source and citation

Raw data for the calculations made to find the sea surface temperature in Cairns comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their 1/4° daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature.

The water temperature data is constructed by combining observations from different platforms (satellites, ships, buoys, and Argo floats) on a regular global grid. A spatially complete sea surface temperature map is then built by interpolating to fill in gaps in the data.

If you'd like to use any of the information above in the format it is presented, please use the citation tool below.

  • "Cairns Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net. Accessed on July 6, 2025. http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/cairns/.

  • "Cairns Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net, http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/cairns/. Accessed 6 July, 2025

  • Cairns Sea Temperature. SeaTemperatures.net. Retrieved from http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/cairns/.