Climate and average weather in Avarua
In Avarua, the weather is muggy, warm, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around January.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Avarua typically varies from 22°C to 27°C, and is rarely below 20°C or above 28°C. March is the hottest month of the year, while August is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Avarua for warm-weather activities is from late April to late December.
- Hottest
- Mar
- 27°
- Coldest
- Aug
- 22°
- Wettest
- Jan
- 213 mm
- Driest
- Jun
- 64 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1546 mm
- 150 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.7–13.3 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 7 m
- 21.2°S
- Clearest
- Jul
- 58% cloud
Avarua is capital city of the Cook Islands.
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Avarua weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late April to late December.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Avarua, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Avarua stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is March, with an average high of 27°C and low of 25°C; the coolest is August, with an average low of 22°C and high of 23°C.
Days typically run about 1°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Avg low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 25 |
| Feb | 27 | 25 |
| Mar | 27 | 25 |
| Apr | 26 | 25 |
| May | 25 | 24 |
| Jun | 24 | 23 |
| Jul | 23 | 22 |
| Aug | 23 | 22 |
| Sep | 23 | 22 |
| Oct | 24 | 23 |
| Nov | 25 | 24 |
| Dec | 26 | 25 |
Average hourly temperature in Avarua
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on March afternoons, near 27°C, and coldest before dawn in August, near 22°C.
Avarua weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26° / 25° | 213 | 18.1 | 13.1 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 27° / 25° | 178 | 17 | 12.7 | 5.1 |
| Mar | 27° / 25° | 186 | 18.6 | 12.1 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 26° / 25° | 153 | 15 | 11.5 | 5.8 |
| May | 25° / 24° | 125 | 12.7 | 11 | 6.3 |
| Jun | 24° / 23° | 64 | 8.2 | 10.7 | 7.1 |
| Jul | 23° / 22° | 98 | 9.2 | 10.8 | 7.1 |
| Aug | 23° / 22° | 72 | 8.3 | 11.3 | 7.1 |
| Sep | 23° / 22° | 73 | 8.4 | 11.9 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 24° / 23° | 87 | 8.8 | 12.5 | 7.0 |
| Nov | 25° / 24° | 108 | 10.7 | 13 | 6.6 |
| Dec | 26° / 25° | 189 | 14.5 | 13.3 | 5.9 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Avarua gets about 1546 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.7 months, from around Nov 24 to May 16, peaking in March at about 62% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 2.
January is the wettest month by volume, with 213 mm over about 18 wet days; June is the driest, with 64 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 58 | 61 | 59 | 50 | 41 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 36 | 47 |
| Rain days | 18 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 15 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 18 |
| Feb | 61 | 17 |
| Mar | 59 | 19 |
| Apr | 50 | 15 |
| May | 41 | 13 |
| Jun | 29 | 8 |
| Jul | 29 | 9 |
| Aug | 27 | 8 |
| Sep | 27 | 8 |
| Oct | 29 | 9 |
| Nov | 36 | 11 |
| Dec | 47 | 15 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Avarua collects about 1546 mm of rain across 150 wet days — roughly 129 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 213 mm, while June is the driest at just 64 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 213 | 178 | 186 | 153 | 125 | 64 | 98 | 72 | 73 | 87 | 108 | 189 |
| Rain days | 18 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 15 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 213 | 18 |
| Feb | 178 | 17 |
| Mar | 186 | 19 |
| Apr | 153 | 15 |
| May | 125 | 13 |
| Jun | 64 | 8 |
| Jul | 98 | 9 |
| Aug | 72 | 8 |
| Sep | 73 | 8 |
| Oct | 87 | 9 |
| Nov | 108 | 11 |
| Dec | 189 | 15 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Avarua, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around June 13 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around October 1. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 53% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 2 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around March 16. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 62% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 38 | 39 | 44 | 46 | 43 | 46 | 53 | 51 | 46 | 44 | 40 | 39 |
| Cloudier (%) | 62 | 61 | 56 | 54 | 57 | 54 | 47 | 49 | 54 | 56 | 60 | 61 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 62 |
| Feb | 39 | 61 |
| Mar | 44 | 56 |
| Apr | 46 | 54 |
| May | 43 | 57 |
| Jun | 46 | 54 |
| Jul | 53 | 47 |
| Aug | 51 | 49 |
| Sep | 46 | 54 |
| Oct | 44 | 56 |
| Nov | 40 | 60 |
| Dec | 39 | 61 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around January 1, brings about 13 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around June 9, only 10 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 36 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 13.1 | 12.7 | 12.1 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 13.0 | 13.3 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:14 | 6:32 | 6:44 | 6:54 | 7:06 | 7:18 | 7:20 | 7:05 | 6:37 | 6:09 | 5:54 | 5:57 |
| Sunset (PM) | 7:23 | 7:15 | 6:53 | 6:25 | 6:05 | 6:01 | 6:09 | 6:21 | 6:30 | 6:39 | 6:55 | 7:14 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.1 | 6:14 | 7:23 |
| Feb | 12.7 | 6:32 | 7:15 |
| Mar | 12.1 | 6:44 | 6:53 |
| Apr | 11.5 | 6:54 | 6:25 |
| May | 11.0 | 7:06 | 6:05 |
| Jun | 10.7 | 7:18 | 6:01 |
| Jul | 10.8 | 7:20 | 6:09 |
| Aug | 11.3 | 7:05 | 6:21 |
| Sep | 11.9 | 6:37 | 6:30 |
| Oct | 12.5 | 6:09 | 6:39 |
| Nov | 13.0 | 5:54 | 6:55 |
| Dec | 13.3 | 5:57 | 7:14 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Avarua averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 10 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 1.8 months, from around Mar 14 to May 7. The sunniest month is April, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).
The greyest month is December, down near 7 sunny days — about 24% fewer than the April peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 7 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 9 | Mixed |
| Apr | 9 | Mixed |
| May | 8 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 8 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 9 | Mixed |
| Aug | 9 | Mixed |
| Sep | 9 | Mixed |
| Oct | 8 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 7 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 7 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Avarua, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 6.8 months, from around October 30 to May 24. The muggiest month is January, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around May 25 to October 29, and August is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 29% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 5 | 1 |
| Humid (%) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 24 | 16 | 7 |
| Muggy (%) | 16 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 34 | 33 | 36 | 33 | 36 | 41 | 35 | 27 |
| Oppressive (%) | 75 | 73 | 77 | 62 | 38 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 19 | 44 | 63 |
| Miserable (%) | 8 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 75 | 8 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 73 | 15 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 77 | 12 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | 7 | 26 | 62 | 4 |
| May | 0 | 8 | 20 | 34 | 38 | 0 |
| Jun | 1 | 18 | 26 | 33 | 21 | 0 |
| Jul | 5 | 21 | 25 | 36 | 13 | 0 |
| Aug | 8 | 21 | 25 | 33 | 12 | 0 |
| Sep | 4 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 14 | 0 |
| Oct | 1 | 14 | 24 | 41 | 19 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 5 | 16 | 35 | 44 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 1 | 7 | 27 | 63 | 2 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Avarua is typically breezy, near 24 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.1 months, from around Jun 2 to Nov 4. The windiest month is September, averaging about 25 km/h (breezy).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Dec 20 to Apr 15, with March the calmest month at about 22 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 24 |
| Feels | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | breezy |
| Feb | 22 | breezy |
| Mar | 22 | breezy |
| Apr | 23 | breezy |
| May | 23 | breezy |
| Jun | 24 | breezy |
| Jul | 24 | breezy |
| Aug | 24 | breezy |
| Sep | 25 | breezy |
| Oct | 24 | breezy |
| Nov | 23 | breezy |
| Dec | 24 | breezy |
Best time to visit Avarua
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Avarua throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid December, Avarua is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Avarua for general outdoor tourist activities is from late April to late December, with a peak score in the last week of June.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 5.9 |
| Rating | fair | fair | fair | good | good | good | good | good | good | good | good | good |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.3 | fair |
| Feb | 5.1 | fair |
| Mar | 5.3 | fair |
| Apr | 5.8 | good |
| May | 6.3 | good |
| Jun | 7.1 | good |
| Jul | 7.1 | good |
| Aug | 7.1 | good |
| Sep | 7.1 | good |
| Oct | 7.0 | good |
| Nov | 6.6 | good |
| Dec | 5.9 | good |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. In Avarua it holds close to 6.1 all year, so any month is about as good as another for hot-weather activities.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Avarua, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
Avarua packs about the same all year — highs hold near 27°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker.
In March, Avarua sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 25°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 19 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Avarua
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 14 km away) is warmest in March at about 28°C and coldest in August near 24°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) | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| Comfort | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | Warm |
| Feb | 28 | Warm |
| Mar | 28 | Warm |
| Apr | 27 | Warm |
| May | 26 | Warm |
| Jun | 25 | Warm |
| Jul | 25 | Warm |
| Aug | 24 | Warm |
| Sep | 24 | Warm |
| Oct | 25 | Warm |
| Nov | 26 | Warm |
| Dec | 27 | Warm |
UV index (midday) in Avarua by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Avarua peaks around February 13 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 10 at about 6 (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) | 15 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | Extreme |
| Feb | 17 | Extreme |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 9 | Very high |
| May | 7 | Very high |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 10 | Extreme |
| Oct | 12 | Extreme |
| Nov | 13 | Extreme |
| Dec | 13 | Extreme |
Average hourly UV index in Avarua
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in February the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4.5 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 3.5 | 5 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 7 |
| Feb | 9 | 7 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 |
| Apr | 7 | 4.5 |
| May | 6 | 3 |
| Jun | 5.5 | 1.5 |
| Jul | 5.5 | 2 |
| Aug | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 8 | 6 |
| Nov | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 8.5 | 6.5 |
Growing season
Avarua is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Avarua banks about 5,217 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 485 | 450 | 499 | 466 | 447 | 405 | 396 | 387 | 380 | 408 | 427 | 466 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 485 |
| Feb | 450 |
| Mar | 499 |
| Apr | 466 |
| May | 447 |
| Jun | 405 |
| Jul | 396 |
| Aug | 387 |
| Sep | 380 |
| Oct | 408 |
| Nov | 427 |
| Dec | 466 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Avarua receives about 5.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.4 and 6.6 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Sep 14 to Apr 2. The brightest month is December, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is June, down near 3.5 kWh/m² — roughly 47% less than the December peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 6.3 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| Level | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.3 | Intense |
| Feb | 6.0 | Intense |
| Mar | 5.5 | Bright |
| Apr | 4.6 | Bright |
| May | 3.8 | Moderate |
| Jun | 3.4 | Moderate |
| Jul | 3.6 | Moderate |
| Aug | 4.3 | Bright |
| Sep | 5.1 | Bright |
| Oct | 5.9 | Bright |
| Nov | 6.5 | Intense |
| Dec | 6.6 | Intense |
Where is Avarua?
Avarua sits at 21.2°S, 159.8°W, 7 m above sea level, in Cook Islands. The nearest listed city is Bora Bora, 994 km away.
Topography around Avarua
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Avarua.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Avarua has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 440 m around an average of 65 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 495 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 478 m.
The land around Avarua is covered by trees (49%) and water (41%) within 3 km, water (92%) within 16 km, and water (98%) within 80 km.
Cook Islands travel facts
- Power plugs
- Type I
- 240 V · 50 Hz
- 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 Avarua (-21.2075°, -159.7755°, elevation 7 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).