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Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Cocos Islands Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The climate in Cocos Islands is warm, oppressive, extremely windy, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 77°F to 85°F and is rarely below 75°F or above 87°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Cocos Islands for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid January.

Climate in Cocos Islands

warmhotwarmJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNowNow48%48%33%33%overcastclearprecipitation: 6.6 inprecipitation: 6.6 in1.0 in1.0 inmuggy: 100%muggy: 100%97%97%beach/pool score: 7.3beach/pool score: 7.35.45.4
Cocos Islands weather by month. Click on each chart for more information.

The temperature in Cocos Islands varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.

Average High and Low Temperature in Cocos Islands

Average High and Low Temperature in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°F100°F100°FSep 1482°FSep 1482°FMar 785°FMar 785°F77°F77°F79°F79°FJan 984°FJan 984°FApr 3084°FApr 3084°FJun 2682°FJun 2682°F78°F78°F79°F79°F78°F78°FNowNow
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.
AverageJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
High 85°F85°F85°F85°F84°F83°F82°F82°F82°F83°F83°F84°F
Temp. 81°F82°F82°F82°F81°F80°F79°F79°F79°F79°F80°F80°F
Low 78°F79°F79°F79°F79°F78°F77°F77°F77°F77°F78°F78°F

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in Cocos Islands

Average Hourly Temperature in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowwarm
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
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In Cocos Islands, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Cocos Islands begins around June 18 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around October 31.

The clearest month of the year in Cocos Islands is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 47% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 31 and lasts for 7.6 months, ending around June 18.

The cloudiest month of the year in Cocos Islands is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% of the time.

Cloud Cover Categories in Cocos Islands

Cloud Cover Categories in Cocos IslandsclearercloudiercloudierJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%Oct 1348%Oct 1348%Apr 1233%Apr 1233%Jun 1840%Jun 1840%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.
FractionJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cloudier 60%63%64%66%63%60%56%53%55%54%59%55%
Clearer 40%37%36%34%37%40%44%47%45%46%41%45%

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Cocos Islands varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.1 months, from January 16 to July 20, with a greater than 28% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Cocos Islands is March, with an average of 13.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.9 months, from July 20 to January 16. The month with the fewest wet days in Cocos Islands is September, with an average of 3.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Cocos Islands is March, with an average of 13.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 47% on March 24.

Daily Chance of Precipitation in Cocos Islands

Daily Chance of Precipitation in Cocos IslandswetdryJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Mar 2447%Mar 2447%Sep 278%Sep 278%Jan 1628%Jan 1628%Jul 2028%Jul 2028%NowNowrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).
Days ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rain 8.8d11.0d13.6d13.0d10.5d9.6d8.7d4.4d3.2d3.7d4.6d5.9d

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cocos Islands experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Cocos Islands. The month with the most rain in Cocos Islands is April, with an average rainfall of 6.2 inches.

The month with the least rain in Cocos Islands is September, with an average rainfall of 1.1 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in Cocos Islands

Average Monthly Rainfall in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 in0 in2 in2 in4 in4 in6 in6 in8 in8 in10 in10 in12 in12 in14 in14 inApr 16.6 inApr 16.6 inSep 301.0 inSep 301.0 in
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rainfall 3.9″5.7″6.1″6.2″4.2″3.8″3.0″1.2″1.1″1.3″2.1″2.3″

The length of the day in Cocos Islands does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 50 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 11 hours, 25 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 51 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in Cocos Islands

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hr12 hr, 6 minSep 2212 hr, 6 minSep 2212 hr, 51 minDec 2112 hr, 51 minDec 2112 hr, 7 minMar 2012 hr, 7 minMar 2011 hr, 25 minJun 2111 hr, 25 minJun 21daydaynightNowNow
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.
Hours ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight 12.8h12.5h12.2h11.8h11.6h11.4h11.5h11.7h12.0h12.4h12.7h12.8h

The earliest sunrise is at 5:26 AM on November 19, and the latest sunrise is 58 minutes later at 6:24 AM on July 12. The earliest sunset is at 5:43 PM on May 31, and the latest sunset is 51 minutes later at 6:35 PM on January 24.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Cocos Islands during 2024.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in Cocos Islands

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNov 195:26 AMNov 195:26 AM6:35 PMJan 246:35 PMJan 24May 315:43 PMMay 315:43 PM6:24 AMJul 126:24 AMJul 12daySolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day over the course of the year 2024. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in Cocos Islands

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AM00001010101020202020303030304040404050505050606060707000001010101020202020303030304040404050505050606060707080805490NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of the year 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in Cocos Islands

The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Cocos Islands, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 1% of 99% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels in Cocos Islands

Humidity Comfort Levels in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Sep 797%Sep 797%100%Apr 5100%Apr 5NowNowmiserablemiserableoppressiveoppressivemuggymuggy
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Muggy days 30.9d29.0d31.0d30.0d31.0d29.8d30.5d30.3d29.2d30.5d29.7d30.8d

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Cocos Islands experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from April 19 to December 4, with average wind speeds of more than 14.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Cocos Islands is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 18.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.5 months, from December 4 to April 19. The calmest month of the year in Cocos Islands is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.0 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in Cocos Islands

Average Wind Speed in Cocos IslandswindyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mph18 mph18 mph20 mph20 mph22 mph22 mphJul 1218.6 mphJul 1218.6 mphFeb 1910.9 mphFeb 1910.9 mphApr 1914.7 mphApr 1914.7 mphDec 414.7 mphDec 414.7 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wind Speed (mph) 11.811.012.514.516.417.418.418.317.916.915.813.7

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Cocos Islands is from the east throughout the year.

Wind Direction in Cocos Islands

Wind Direction in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NowNoweastsouthwestnorth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Cocos Islands is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 2°F of 82°F throughout.

Average Water Temperature in Cocos Islands

Average Water Temperature in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec78°F78°F79°F79°F80°F80°F81°F81°F82°F82°F83°F83°F84°F84°F85°F85°F86°F86°FMar 1383°FMar 1383°F80°FSep 1980°FSep 19Feb 383°FFeb 383°FMay 983°FMay 983°FAug 280°FAug 280°FNov 1780°FNov 1780°FNowNow
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
WaterJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Temperature 82°F83°F83°F83°F82°F82°F81°F80°F80°F80°F80°F81°F

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Cocos Islands throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cocos Islands for general outdoor tourist activities is from late July to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

Tourism Score in Cocos Islands

Tourism Score in Cocos Islandsbest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810106.46.43.33.3NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationtourism score
The tourism score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cocos Islands for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid January, with a peak score in the second week of October.

Beach/Pool Score in Cocos Islands

Beach/Pool Score in Cocos Islandsbest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810107.37.35.45.47.27.26.96.9NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationbeach/pool score
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).

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Cocos Islands are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in Cocos Islands

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%100%Jan 1100%Jan 1100%Jul 2100%Jul 2NowNowwarmhot
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Growing Degree Days in Cocos Islands

Growing Degree Days in Cocos IslandsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F2,000°F2,000°F4,000°F4,000°F6,000°F6,000°F8,000°F8,000°F10,000°F10,000°FJul 490°FJul 490°FSep 11,800°FSep 11,800°FJun 3011,088°FJun 3011,088°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from September 22 to January 31, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Cocos Islands is December, with an average of 6.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from May 6 to July 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Cocos Islands is June, with an average of 4.5 kWh.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in Cocos Islands

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in Cocos IslandsbrightbrightdarkJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWh9 kWh9 kWhDec 66.8 kWhDec 66.8 kWhJun 104.4 kWhJun 104.4 kWhSep 226.3 kWhSep 226.3 kWhJan 316.3 kWhJan 316.3 kWhJul 254.9 kWhJul 254.9 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Solar Energy (kWh) 6.56.25.95.24.84.54.75.56.26.66.76.7

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cocos Islands are -12.164 deg latitude, 96.873 deg longitude, and 20 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cocos Islands is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 0 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 0 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (108 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (108 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Cocos Islands is covered by water (100%), within 10 miles by water (100%), and within 50 miles by water (100%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Cocos Islands, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

The details of the data sources used for this report can be found on the Cocos Island Airport page.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.

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