Nuku‘alofa in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Nuku‘alofa sees average daytime highs around 23°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 310 mm of rain over about 26 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 23°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 27% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.
Winter is Nuku‘alofa's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Nuku‘alofa 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 Nuku‘alofa's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 23°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 22°C
- Rainfall
- 310 mm
- 26 wet days
- Avg wind
- 25 km/h
- Travel score
- 7.0
- best season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Nuku‘alofa in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 23°C.
A typical winter day in Nuku‘alofa reaches about 23°C and drops to 22°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest August.
Nuku‘alofa weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26° / 25° | 195 | 15.5 | 13.1 | 5.7 |
| Feb | 27° / 26° | 203 | 16.5 | 12.7 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 27° / 26° | 230 | 18.3 | 12.1 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 26° / 25° | 167 | 13.4 | 11.5 | 6.0 |
| May | 25° / 24° | 103 | 10.1 | 11 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 24° / 23° | 106 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 7.0 |
| Jul | 23° / 22° | 96 | 8.4 | 10.8 | 7.0 |
| Aug | 23° / 21° | 109 | 8.6 | 11.3 | 6.9 |
| Sep | 23° / 22° | 106 | 9.5 | 11.9 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 23° / 22° | 93 | 8.5 | 12.5 | 7.1 |
| Nov | 25° / 23° | 99 | 9.2 | 13 | 6.9 |
| Dec | 26° / 25° | 105 | 12.1 | 13.3 | 6.4 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 27% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Nuku‘alofa gets around 310 mm of rain over 26 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels muggy — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 25 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 48 min in early June to 11 h 36 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.6 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Nuku‘alofa?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Nuku‘alofa for sightseeing.
What to pack for Nuku‘alofa in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Nuku‘alofa sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 22°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and a windbreaker. About 26 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Nuku‘alofa in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 24°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea offshore 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 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Comfort | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Refreshing | Refreshing | 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 | 24 | Warm |
| Aug | 24 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 24 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 24 | Warm |
| Nov | 25 | Warm |
| Dec | 26 | Warm |
UV index in Nuku‘alofa in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nuku‘alofa peaks around February 12 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 7 (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 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 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 | 16 | Extreme |
| Mar | 14 | Extreme |
| Apr | 10 | Very high |
| May | 7 | Very high |
| Jun | 7 | High |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 11 | Extreme |
| Oct | 14 | Extreme |
| Nov | 13 | Extreme |
| Dec | 13 | Extreme |
Where is Nuku‘alofa?
Nuku‘alofa sits at 21.1°S, 175.2°W, 1 m above sea level, in Tonga. The nearest listed city is Alofi, 598 km away.
Topography around Nuku‘alofa
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Nuku‘alofa.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Nuku‘alofa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 21 m around an average of 3 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 73 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 299 m.
The land around Nuku‘alofa is covered by water (52%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 3 km, water (68%) within 16 km, and water (97%) within 80 km.
Tonga travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type I
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 75% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $6,547
- 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 30%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.9
- per 100k, 2019
- Road deaths
- 33
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- 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 Nuku‘alofa (-21.1368°, -175.2011°, elevation 1 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.