Climate and average weather in Arawa

In Arawa, the weather is muggy, warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around March.

Best: early January to late December

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Arawa typically varies from 21°C to 27°C, and is rarely below 21°C or above 29°C. November is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Arawa for warm-weather activities is from early January to late December.

Hottest
Nov
27°
Coldest
Jul
22°
Wettest
Mar
376 mm
Driest
Jun
319 mm
Rain / yr
4152 mm
341 wet days
Daylight
11.6–12.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
28 m
6.2°S
Clearest
Aug
82% cloud

Arawa is human settlement.

Founded
1884

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Arawa 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 early January to late December.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Arawa, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Arawa stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is November, with an average high of 27°C and low of 22°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 22°C and high of 26°C.

Days typically run about 5°C warmer than nights year-round.

18°20°22°24°26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2722
Feb2722
Mar2722
Apr2722
May2722
Jun2622
Jul2622
Aug2621
Sep2722
Oct2722
Nov2722
Dec2722

Average hourly temperature in Arawa

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 November afternoons, near 27°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 22°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Arawa weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 22°35929.512.33.4
Feb27° / 22°36027.112.23.3
Mar27° / 22°37629.6123.4
Apr27° / 22°35228.811.93.4
May27° / 22°3262911.73.6
Jun26° / 22°31928.111.63.6
Jul26° / 22°36029.611.73.6
Aug26° / 21°34427.511.83.8
Sep27° / 22°32827.2123.7
Oct27° / 22°33528.412.13.6
Nov27° / 22°32027.412.33.6
Dec27° / 22°37429.212.43.4

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Arawa gets about 4152 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, and that barely changes with the seasons — rain is spread fairly evenly through the year.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 376 mm over about 30 wet days; June is the driest, with 319 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 31 · 97%Aug 11 · 88%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan9530
Feb9727
Mar9530
Apr9629
May9329
Jun9428
Jul9530
Aug8928
Sep9127
Oct9128
Nov9127
Dec9429

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Arawa collects about 4152 mm of rain across 341 wet days — roughly 346 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 376 mm, while June is the driest at just 319 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 27% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350400450JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec359360376352326319360344328335320374
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan35930
Feb36027
Mar37630
Apr35229
May32629
Jun31928
Jul36030
Aug34428
Sep32827
Oct33528
Nov32027
Dec37429

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Arawa, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 13 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around November 20. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 17% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 21 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around May 12. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 95% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 11 · 17%Feb 1 · 5%partly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan793
Feb595
Mar793
Apr991
May1288
Jun1486
Jul1486
Aug1783
Sep1684
Oct1585
Nov1288
Dec793

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

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 12 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around June 9, only 11 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 0 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan12.36:376:57
Feb12.26:466:58
Mar12.06:466:49
Apr11.96:426:34
May11.76:426:25
Jun11.66:496:27
Jul11.76:536:33
Aug11.86:486:36
Sep12.06:336:31
Oct12.16:196:27
Nov12.36:146:32
Dec12.46:236:45

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Arawa gets about 1 sunny days a month gloomy — and it barely shifts through the year, holding between 0 and 2 days every month. Clear skies here are a flat line, not a season.

05JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgloomyAug 82 daysApr 50 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb0Gloomy
Mar1Gloomy
Apr0Gloomy
May1Gloomy
Jun2Gloomy
Jul1Gloomy
Aug1Gloomy
Sep1Gloomy
Oct1Gloomy
Nov1Gloomy
Dec1Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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.

Arawa is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.

The stickiest month is January, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 100% of the time. Even in January, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 0% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecoppressivemuggy
Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan0298
Feb0298
Mar0297
Apr0397
May0397
Jun0595
Jul0991
Aug21683
Sep11485
Oct11090
Nov0793
Dec0496

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.

Wind in Arawa is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmAug 16 · 6 km/hDec 10 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar4calm
Apr4calm
May4calm
Jun5calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct5calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Hazard calendar for Arawa

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

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

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

Best time to visit Arawa

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Arawa throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid January, Arawa is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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. In Arawa it holds close to 3.9 all year, so any month is about as good as another for general outdoor tourist activities.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDectravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitation

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).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan3.4poor
Feb3.3poor
Mar3.4poor
Apr3.4poor
May3.6fair
Jun3.6fair
Jul3.6fair
Aug3.8fair
Sep3.7fair
Oct3.7fair
Nov3.6fair
Dec3.4poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. In Arawa it holds close to 3.8 all year, so any month is about as good as another for hot-weather activities.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitation

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 Arawa, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

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.

Arawa packs about the same all year — highs hold near 27°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In November, Arawa sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 27 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Arawa

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 13 km away) is warmest in December at about 30°C and coldest in August near 29°C.

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

28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan30Tropical
Feb30Tropical
Mar30Tropical
Apr30Tropical
May30Tropical
Jun30Tropical
Jul29Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct30Tropical
Nov30Tropical
Dec30Tropical

UV index (midday) in Arawa by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Arawa peaks around February 20 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 10 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeFeb 20UV 16Jun 19UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun10Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep14Extreme
Oct15Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Arawa

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan8.56.5
Feb8.57
Mar8.57
Apr86.5
May7.56
Jun75
Jul7.55.5
Aug86
Sep86.5
Oct86.5
Nov86.5
Dec86.5
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Arawa is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

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. Arawa banks about 5,260 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan460
Feb413
Mar455
Apr438
May449
Jun423
Jul427
Aug428
Sep422
Oct446
Nov440
Dec459

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.

Arawa receives about 4.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 3.9 and 5.4 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmoderatebrightOct 245.4 kWhJul 123.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.2Bright
Feb5.0Bright
Mar5.0Bright
Apr4.8Bright
May4.3Bright
Jun4.0Bright
Jul3.9Moderate
Aug4.4Bright
Sep5.0Bright
Oct5.3Bright
Nov5.3Bright
Dec5.1Bright

Where is Arawa?

Arawa sits at 6.2°S, 155.6°E, 28 m above sea level, in Papua New Guinea. The nearest listed city is Kokopo, 421 km away.

KokopoKimbe

Topography around Arawa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Arawa has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 483 m around an average of 101 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,577 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,698 m.

The land around Arawa is covered by trees (71%) and water (22%) within 3 km, trees (62%) and water (36%) within 16 km, and water (57%) and trees (43%) within 80 km.

3 km
483 m
16 km
1,577 m
80 km
2,698 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Kokopo 421 km · Nggosi 597 km · Honiara 600 km · Tandai 601 km · Kola'a 602 km · Vura 604 km · Panatina 605 km · Kimbe 605 km

Papua New Guinea travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type I
240 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 58% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$3,020
2025
Homicide rate
9.3
per 100k, 2010
Road deaths
12.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 64%Roman Catholic 26%other Christian 5%non-Christian 1%

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 Arawa (-6.2298°, 155.566°, elevation 28 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).