Gladstone in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), Gladstone sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 23°C, with 342 mm of rain over about 34 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Summer is Gladstone's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Gladstone's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
28°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
23°C
Rainfall
342 mm
34 wet days
Avg wind
15 km/h
Travel score
5.8
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Gladstone in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C.

A typical summer day in Gladstone reaches about 28°C and drops to 23°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

20°25°30°35°DecJanFeb

Gladstone weather by month

How the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 24°11411.913.35.6
Feb29° / 24°13112.312.85.4
Mar28° / 22°838.512.26.7
Apr26° / 20°515.211.57.7
May24° / 17°404.510.98.2
Jun22° / 15°363.810.68.1
Jul21° / 13°293.110.78.2
Aug22° / 14°232.811.28.5
Sep24° / 17°213.211.98.7
Oct25° / 19°415.312.68.1
Nov27° / 22°406.313.27.4
Dec28° / 23°969.813.46.5

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

Gladstone gets around 342 mm of rain over 34 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Summer

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of summer feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Summer

Winds average 15 km/h across summer.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 24 min in early December to 12 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Summer

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 6.6 kWh/m².

02468DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Hazard calendar for Gladstone

In seasonPeak

In summer, Gladstone overlaps its cyclone and rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Gladstone sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

Gladstone's rainy season runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Cyclone
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is summer a good time to visit Gladstone?

Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.8
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
6.8
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

summer is a reasonable time to visit Gladstone for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Gladstone in Summer

From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In summer, Gladstone sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 34 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

Sea temperature near Gladstone in Summer

The nearest coast averages about 27°C across summer — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in February at about 28°C and coldest in August near 20°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb28Warm
Mar27Warm
Apr25Warm
May23Refreshing
Jun21Refreshing
Jul20Refreshing
Aug20Refreshing
Sep22Refreshing
Oct23Refreshing
Nov25Warm
Dec27Warm

UV index in Gladstone in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gladstone peaks around February 11 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 at about 5 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeFeb 11UV 15Jun 20UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr10Very high
May7High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug7Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Air quality in Gladstone in Summer

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where summer falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Gladstone is worst in November — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.2× the cleanest month (June, 4 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Gladstone's WHO annual average of 7.1 µg/m³.

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodNov 1616 µg/m³Jun 184 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb6Good
Mar6Good
Apr5Good
May4Good
Jun4Good
Jul4Good
Aug6Good
Sep9Good
Oct9Good
Nov17Moderate
Dec10Good
Location & terrain

Where is Gladstone?

Gladstone sits at 23.8°S, 151.3°E, 21 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Rockhampton, 93 km away.

MaryboroughGympieNoosaSunshine CoastMaroochydore

Topography around Gladstone

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Gladstone.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gladstone has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 124 m around an average of 12 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 326 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 955 m.

The land around Gladstone is covered by water (32%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 3 km, trees (43%) and water (36%) within 16 km, and water (43%) and trees (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
124 m
16 km
326 m
80 km
955 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmangroves
Summer weather nearby: Rockhampton 93 km · Bundaberg 158 km · Hervey Bay 221 km · Maryborough 238 km · Gympie 296 km · Noosa 338 km · Sunshine Coast 362 km · Maroochydore 363 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
none 38%Roman Catholic 20%Protestant 18%other Christian 4%

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 Gladstone (-23.8485°, 151.2577°, elevation 21 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.