Cooktown Sea Temperature

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

Water temperature in Cooktown right now

Below is the current sea temperature for Cooktown, Australia on January 10, 2026.

Today

Yesterday

A week ago

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 Cooktown on January 10 over the last 10 years is 29.38° C (84.88° F), with a low temperature of 28.82° C (83.88° F) and a high of 30.14° C (86.25° F).

Analysis and forecast for Cooktown water temperatures

The water temperature in Cooktown today is the same as the average temperature of 29.38° C (84.88° F) and the temperature on this day last year was 29.38° C (84.88° F).

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

DateTemperature (Celsius)Temperature (Fahrenheit)
January 1029.38° C84.88° F
January 929.47° C85.05° F
January 829.51° C85.13° F
January 729.38° C84.88° F
January 629.33° C84.79° F
January 529.45° C85.01° F
January 429.39° C84.91° F
January 329.35° C84.84° F
January 229.32° C84.77° F
January 129.23° C84.61° F
December 3129.27° C84.68° F
December 3029.16° C84.49° F
December 2929.2° C84.56° F
December 2829.25° C84.66° F
December 2729.31° C84.75° F
December 2629.26° C84.67° F
December 2529.25° C84.65° F
December 2429.25° C84.65° F
December 2329.16° C84.5° F
December 2229.03° C84.25° F
December 2128.92° C84.06° F
December 2028.96° C84.14° F
December 1929.01° C84.21° F
December 1828.94° C84.09° F
December 1728.99° C84.18° F
December 1628.97° C84.15° F
December 1528.91° C84.04° F
December 1428.84° C83.91° F
December 1328.88° C83.99° F
December 1228.81° C83.86° 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 Cooktown by month

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

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

Cooktown map and nearby water temperatures

Cooktown sea temperature map

Why measure sea surface temperatures (SST) in Cooktown?

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

SST is one measure that provides information on the global climate, and it can be used to predict the weather in Cooktown 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 Cooktown 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.