Climate and average weather in Lae

In Lae, 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 April.

Best: all year

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Lae typically varies from 23°C to 28°C, and is rarely below 22°C or above 29°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while August is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, Lae has no single best season — it scores well the whole year round, so any month is a good time to visit for warm-weather activities.

Hottest
Feb
28°
Coldest
Aug
23°
Wettest
Apr
697 mm
Driest
Feb
425 mm
Rain / yr
6815 mm
293 wet days
Daylight
11.6–12.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
44 m
6.7°S
Clearest
Sep
78% cloud

Lae is city in Papua New Guinea.

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

Lae 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 holds near its peak the whole year round.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Lae stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is February, with an average high of 28°C and low of 24°C; the coolest is August, with an average low of 23°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 3°C warmer than nights year-round.

18°20°22°24°26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2824
Feb2824
Mar2724
Apr2724
May2624
Jun2623
Jul2523
Aug2523
Sep2623
Oct2623
Nov2724
Dec2724

Average hourly temperature in Lae

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 February afternoons, near 28°C, and coldest before dawn in August, near 23°C.

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

Lae 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
Jan28° / 24°57325.712.33.8
Feb28° / 24°42522.912.23.9
Mar27° / 24°61826.2123.8
Apr27° / 24°69724.411.94.0
May26° / 24°65224.411.74.2
Jun26° / 23°59223.611.64.3
Jul25° / 23°51824.811.64.3
Aug25° / 23°52525.111.84.4
Sep26° / 23°46622.9124.5
Oct26° / 23°48923.112.14.5
Nov27° / 24°58023.212.34.2
Dec27° / 24°68226.312.43.8

Chance of rain

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

Lae gets about 6815 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from around Dec 7 to May 10, peaking in December at about 87% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 11.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 697 mm over about 24 wet days; February is the driest, with 425 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 22 · 87%Oct 11 · 73%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan8326
Feb8223
Mar8426
Apr8224
May7924
Jun7824
Jul8025
Aug8025
Sep7723
Oct7523
Nov7823
Dec8426

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Lae collects about 6815 mm of rain across 293 wet days — roughly 568 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 697 mm, while February is the driest at just 425 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350400450500550600650700750800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec573425618697652592518525466489580682
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan57326
Feb42523
Mar61826
Apr69724
May65224
Jun59224
Jul51825
Aug52525
Sep46623
Oct48923
Nov58023
Dec68226

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Lae, 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 May 12 and lasts for 6.7 months, ending around December 1. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 22% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 2 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around May 11. The cloudiest month is March, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 94% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 11 · 23%Mar 7 · 4%partly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan793
Feb694
Mar694
Apr991
May1486
Jun1684
Jul1585
Aug2179
Sep2278
Oct1882
Nov1486
Dec892

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 May 29, 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)
Jan12.36:116:32
Feb12.26:206:33
Mar12.06:206:23
Apr11.96:176:08
May11.76:175:59
Jun11.66:246:01
Jul11.66:286:07
Aug11.86:236:09
Sep12.06:076:05
Oct12.15:536:02
Nov12.35:486:07
Dec12.45:576:20

Sunny days

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

Lae gets about 2 sunny days a month gloomy — and it barely shifts through the year, holding between 0 and 3 days every month. Clear skies here are a flat line, not a season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgloomymixedSep 83 daysMar 60 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb1Gloomy
Mar1Gloomy
Apr1Gloomy
May1Gloomy
Jun2Gloomy
Jul2Gloomy
Aug3Gloomy
Sep3Gloomy
Oct2Gloomy
Nov2Gloomy
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.

Lae 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 September, 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 (%)Miserable (%)
Jan03961
Feb03952
Mar03961
Apr07930
May114860
Jun231680
Jul251470
Aug357390
Sep448470
Oct235620
Nov014860
Dec03970

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

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmAug 7 · 5 km/hJan 14 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar4calm
Apr4calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Hazard calendar for Lae

In seasonPeak

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

Lae 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 Lae

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. In Lae it holds close to 4.6 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
Jan3.8fair
Feb3.8fair
Mar3.8fair
Apr4.0fair
May4.2fair
Jun4.3fair
Jul4.3fair
Aug4.4fair
Sep4.5fair
Oct4.5fair
Nov4.2fair
Dec3.8fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. In Lae it holds close to 4.4 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 Lae, 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.

Lae packs about the same all year — highs hold near 28°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 February, Lae sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 23 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Lae

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 22 km away) is warmest in January at about 30°C and coldest in August near 28°C.

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

26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan30Tropical
Feb30Tropical
Mar30Tropical
Apr30Tropical
May29Tropical
Jun29Tropical
Jul28Tropical
Aug28Warm
Sep28Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov30Tropical
Dec30Tropical

UV index (midday) in Lae 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 Lae peaks around March 10 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 10 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 10UV 16Jun 18UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan15Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun10Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep14Extreme
Oct15Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec14Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Lae

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 March 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
May7.55.5
Jun7.55
Jul7.55.5
Aug86
Sep86.5
Oct8.56.5
Nov8.56.5
Dec86.5
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Lae 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. Lae banks about 5,442 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around February.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan491
Feb445
Mar484
Apr457
May463
Jun433
Jul432
Aug428
Sep422
Oct450
Nov453
Dec483

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.

Lae receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 3.2 and 4.6 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmoderatebrightOct 94.6 kWhJul 13.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.5Bright
Feb4.6Bright
Mar4.3Bright
Apr4.0Moderate
May3.6Moderate
Jun3.3Moderate
Jul3.3Moderate
Aug3.7Moderate
Sep4.3Bright
Oct4.6Bright
Nov4.5Bright
Dec4.3Bright

Where is Lae?

Lae sits at 6.7°S, 147.0°E, 44 m above sea level, in Papua New Guinea. The nearest listed city is Bulolo, 66 km away.

GorokaMadangPopondettaPort MoresbyMount HagenKimbeMendi

Topography around Lae

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lae has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 181 m around an average of 20 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,440 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,081 m.

The land around Lae is covered by trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, trees (57%) and water (35%) within 16 km, and trees (69%) and water (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
181 m
16 km
1,440 m
80 km
4,081 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermangroves
Nearby: Bulolo 66 km · Goroka 191 km · Madang 214 km · Popondetta 265 km · Port Moresby 307 km · Mount Hagen 320 km · Kimbe 371 km · Mendi 375 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 Lae (-6.7233°, 146.9961°, elevation 44 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).