Climate and Average Weather Year Round in New Caledonia New Caledonia

In New Caledonia, the summers are hot, muggy, wet, and partly cloudy; the winters are comfortable and mostly clear; and it is windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 59°F to 88°F and is rarely below 53°F or above 93°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit New Caledonia for warm-weather activities are from early April to mid May and from late August to mid December.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 25 to March 23, with an average daily high temperature above 85°F. The hottest month of the year in New Caledonia is February, with an average high of 87°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from June 8 to September 7, with an average daily high temperature below 77°F. The coldest month of the year in New Caledonia is July, with an average low of 60°F and high of 75°F.

In New Caledonia, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in New Caledonia begins around June 20 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around December 10.

The clearest month of the year in New Caledonia is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 76% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 10 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around June 20.

The cloudiest month of the year in New Caledonia is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% of the time.

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

The wetter season lasts 5.9 months, from December 22 to June 19, with a greater than 23% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in New Caledonia is February, with an average of 9.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.1 months, from June 19 to December 22. The month with the fewest wet days in New Caledonia is October, with an average of 3.4 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 New Caledonia is February, with an average of 9.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 36% on February 28.

Rainfall

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. New Caledonia experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in New Caledonia. The month with the most rain in New Caledonia is March, with an average rainfall of 5.0 inches.

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

The length of the day in New Caledonia varies over the course of the year. In 2023, the shortest day is June 22, with 10 hours, 49 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 22, with 13 hours, 27 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:06 AM on November 28, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 30 minutes later at 6:36 AM on July 5. The earliest sunset is at 5:22 PM on June 6, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 23 minutes later at 6:46 PM on January 16.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in New Caledonia during 2023.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2023. 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.

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.

New Caledonia experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from October 31 to May 27, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 27% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in New Caledonia is March, with 26.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in New Caledonia is August, with 2.1 days that are muggy or worse.

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 New Caledonia experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from December 19 to May 11, with average wind speeds of more than 12.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in New Caledonia is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.2 months, from May 11 to December 19. The calmest month of the year in New Caledonia is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in New Caledonia is from the east throughout the year.

New Caledonia 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 experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.3 months, from January 1 to April 11, with an average temperature above 80°F. The month of the year in New Caledonia with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 81°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.5 months, from June 30 to October 12, with an average temperature below 75°F. The month of the year in New Caledonia with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 73°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in New Caledonia 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 times of year to visit New Caledonia for general outdoor tourist activities are from early April to mid May and from late August to mid December, with a peak score in the third week of October.

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 New Caledonia for hot-weather activities is from late November to early April, with a peak score in the last week of December.

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 New Caledonia 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.

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.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from October 7 to February 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in New Caledonia is December, with an average of 7.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from May 7 to August 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year in New Caledonia is June, with an average of 3.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of New Caledonia are -21.500 deg latitude, 165.500 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of New Caledonia 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 also essentially flat (0 feet). Within 50 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet).

The area within 2 miles of New Caledonia is covered by trees (51%), grassland (22%), shrubs (17%), and cropland (10%), within 10 miles by trees (73%) and shrubs (12%), and within 50 miles by water (73%) and trees (20%).