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 8th December 2024.

28.11° C

(82.61° F)

  • yesterday: 28.28° C (82.91° F)
  • a week ago: 29.05° C (84.29° F)

This water temperature is comparable to that of a swimming pool, but it might be higher than most open water swimmers prefer for serious swimming. Make sure to drink plenty of water before and after swimming and don't wear a wetsuit to avoid overheating.

The average sea temperature for Cairns on December 8th over the last 10 years is 28.59° C (83.46° F), with a low temperature of 27.63° C (81.73° F) and a high of 29.71° C (85.48° F).

Analysis and forecast for Cairns water temperatures

The water temperature in Cairns today is lower than the average temperature of 28.59° C (83.46° F) and the temperature on this day last year, 8th December 2023, was 28.09° C (82.56° F).

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

Date Temperature (Celsius) Temperature (Fahrenheit)
December 8 28.11° C 82.61° F
December 7 28.28° C 82.91° F
December 6 28.86° C 83.95° F
December 5 28.8° C 83.84° F
December 4 28.92° C 84.06° F
December 3 29.15° C 84.47° F
December 2 29.22° C 84.6° F
December 1 29.05° C 84.29° F
November 30 28.63° C 83.53° F
November 29 28.41° C 83.14° F
November 28 28.38° C 83.08° F
November 27 28.43° C 83.17° F
November 26 28.46° C 83.23° F
November 25 28.34° C 83.01° F
November 24 28.32° C 82.98° F
November 23 28.35° C 83.03° F
November 22 28.25° C 82.85° F
November 21 28.25° C 82.85° F
November 20 28.16° C 82.69° F
November 19 28.04° C 82.47° F
November 18 28.05° C 82.49° F
November 17 28.07° C 82.53° F
November 16 28.3° C 82.94° F
November 15 28.25° C 82.85° F
November 14 28.07° C 82.53° F
November 13 27.87° C 82.17° F
November 12 27.73° C 81.91° F
November 11 27.63° C 81.73° F
November 10 27.53° C 81.55° F
November 9 27.5° C 81.5° F
November 8 27.54° C 81.57° 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 31.58° C (88.85° F) in Gulf of Carpentaria. The lowest is in Bruny Island, where the temperature of the water is 14.75° C (58.56° 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 December 8, 2024. http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/cairns/.

  • "Cairns Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net, http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/cairns/. Accessed 8 December, 2024

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