Airlie Beach in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Airlie Beach sees average daytime highs around 22°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 97 mm of rain over about 17 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 22°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels humid.
Winter is Airlie Beach's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Airlie Beach's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 22°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 18°C
- Rainfall
- 97 mm
- 17 wet days
- Avg wind
- 18 km/h
- Travel score
- 7.7
- 2nd-best season
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Airlie Beach in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 22°C.
A typical winter day in Airlie Beach reaches about 22°C and drops to 18°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.
How winter really feels in Airlie Beach
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Airlie Beach weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28° / 25° | 201 | 17.6 | 13.1 | 5.2 |
| Feb | 28° / 25° | 233 | 18.4 | 12.7 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 27° / 25° | 191 | 17.6 | 12.1 | 5.4 |
| Apr | 26° / 23° | 86 | 13.9 | 11.5 | 6.4 |
| May | 24° / 21° | 50 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 22° / 19° | 38 | 7.6 | 10.8 | 7.4 |
| Jul | 21° / 18° | 28 | 4.4 | 10.9 | 7.8 |
| Aug | 22° / 18° | 31 | 4.6 | 11.3 | 8.0 |
| Sep | 23° / 20° | 13 | 3.6 | 11.9 | 8.5 |
| Oct | 25° / 22° | 31 | 6.1 | 12.5 | 8.0 |
| Nov | 27° / 24° | 59 | 8.4 | 13 | 7.2 |
| Dec | 28° / 25° | 108 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 6.3 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Airlie Beach gets around 97 mm of rain over 17 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels humid — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 18 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 54 min in early June to 11 h 36 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Airlie Beach
None of Airlie Beach's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Airlie Beach sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.
Airlie Beach's monsoon runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Airlie Beach?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is one of the better times to visit Airlie Beach for general sightseeing.
What to pack for Airlie Beach in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Airlie Beach sees daytime highs around 22°C and nights near 18°C. Worth packing: sun protection. About 17 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Airlie Beach in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 23°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 18 km away) is warmest in February at about 29°C and coldest in August near 22°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 28 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 28 |
| Comfort | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm | Warm | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Warm | Warm | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | Tropical |
| Feb | 29 | Tropical |
| Mar | 28 | Tropical |
| Apr | 27 | Warm |
| May | 25 | Warm |
| Jun | 23 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 22 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 22 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 24 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 25 | Warm |
| Nov | 27 | Warm |
| Dec | 28 | Warm |
UV index in Airlie Beach in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Airlie Beach peaks around February 9 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 7 (high).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 16 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | Extreme |
| Feb | 16 | Extreme |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 11 | Extreme |
| May | 8 | Very high |
| Jun | 7 | High |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 11 | Extreme |
| Oct | 12 | Extreme |
| Nov | 13 | Extreme |
| Dec | 13 | Extreme |
Air quality in Airlie Beach in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Airlie Beach is worst in November — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (July, 4 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 7 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Good |
| Feb | 6 | Good |
| Mar | 6 | Good |
| Apr | 5 | Good |
| May | 5 | Good |
| Jun | 5 | Good |
| Jul | 4 | Good |
| Aug | 5 | Good |
| Sep | 6 | Good |
| Oct | 8 | Good |
| Nov | 15 | Moderate |
| Dec | 7 | Good |
Where is Airlie Beach?
Airlie Beach sits at 20.3°S, 148.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Mackay, 109 km away.
Topography around Airlie Beach
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Airlie Beach.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Airlie Beach has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 436 m around an average of 50 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 657 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,146 m.
The land around Airlie Beach is covered by water (52%) and trees (36%) within 3 km, trees (46%) and water (46%) within 16 km, and water (58%) and trees (25%) within 80 km.
Australia travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type I
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 90% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $65,130
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.9 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 0.9
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 4.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Airlie Beach (-20.2675°, 148.7147°, elevation 0 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.