Lae in Spring

In spring (September, October and November), Lae sees average daytime highs around 26°C and overnight lows near 23°C, with 1536 mm of rain over about 69 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Spring is Lae's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Lae has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Lae's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
26°C
3rd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
23°C
Rainfall
1536 mm
69 wet days
Avg wind
5 km/h
Travel score
4.4
best season of the year
Months
Sep · Oct · Nov

Temperature in Lae in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C.

A typical spring day in Lae reaches about 26°C and drops to 23°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is November, the coolest September.

20°23°25°28°30°SepOctNov

Lae weather by month

How the three spring months (September, October and November) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

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

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across spring.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Lae gets around 1536 mm of rain over 69 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%SepOctNov

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Wind in Spring

Winds average 5 km/h across spring.

0246810SepOctNov

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 54 min in early September to 12 h 24 min by late November. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMSepOctNov

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.5 kWh/m².

024SepOctNov
Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Lae

In seasonPeak

In spring, Lae overlaps its cyclone season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

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

Is spring a good time to visit Lae?

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

4.4
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
4.3
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Lae for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lae in Spring

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

In spring, Lae sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 23°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 69 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

Sea temperature near Lae in Spring

The nearest coast averages about 29°C across spring — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

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 in Lae in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring 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 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
Location & terrain

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
Spring weather 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.