Remote Islands and Antarctica in August 2026

Australia's Indian Ocean islands

Australia's Pacific Ocean islands

  • Norfolk Island Aero recorded a monthly rainfall total of 77.8 mm, this was below the average August rainfall of 125.0 mm.
  • At Norfolk Island Aero, the mean maximum temperature was 0.4 °C above average and the mean minimum temperature was 0.9 °C above average.
  • The monthly rainfall total at Lord Howe Island Aero was 66.0 mm, this was very much below the average rainfall for the station at 112.2 mm. This was the driest August for the station since 2007.
  • At Lord Howe Island Aero, the mean maximum temperature was 0.8 °C above average and the mean minimum temperature was 0.6 °C above average.

Australia's Antarctic and sub-Antarctic territories

  • The strongest wind gust recorded at the Australian Antarctic stations during August was 187 km/h at Casey on the morning of the 2nd.
  • Mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures for August were above average at the Australian Antarctic stations.
  • Monthly precipitation at Macquarie Island was 112.4 mm, this was 143 % of the August average rainfall of 77.8 mm.
  • At Macquarie Island the mean maximum temperature was 0.2 °C above average and the mean minimum temperature was 0.6 °C above average.
  • The strongest wind gust recorded during August at Macquarie Island was 152 km/h on the morning of the 8th.

Record highest August temperature
New record
(°C)
Old
record
Years of
record
Average for
August
Cocos Island Airport 31.4 on the 5th 31.0 on 11 Aug 2025 75 28.1



Record highest August mean maximum temperature
New record
(°C)
Old
record
Years of
record
Average for
August
Cocos Island Airport 30.0 29.5 in 2024 75 28.1



Record highest August daily minimum temperature
New record
(°C)
Old
record
Years of
record
Average for
August
Cocos Island Airport 26.8 on the 6th =26.8 on 27 Aug 2010 75 24.0



Record highest August mean temperature
New record
(°C)
Old
record
Years of
record
Average for
August
Cocos Island Airport 27.6 27.5 in 2024 75 26.0




Summary statistics for August 2026
Maximum temperatures
(°C)
Minimum temperatures
(°C)
Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
August
2026
Diff
from
average
Highest for
August
2026
Mean for
August
2026
Diff
from
average
Lowest for
August
2026
Total for
August
2026
Average
for
August
Rank of
August
2026
Fraction of
August
average
Offshore Islands
Lord Howe Island Aero 19.9 +0.8 21.8 23rd 14.2 +0.6 9.1 8th 66.0 112.2 v low 59%
Norfolk Island Aero 18.8 +0.4 20.8 12th 14.2 +0.9 10.4 4th 77.8 125.0 low 62%
Christmas Island Aero 26.6 +0.5 27.4 31st 22.7 +0.4 21.4 12th 22.6 41.8 average 54%
Cocos Island Airport 30.0 +1.9 31.4 5th 25.3 +1.3 22.0 19th 86.4 121.6 average 71%
Antarctica and Macquarie Island
Casey -8.3 +2.5 -0.3 18th -16.0 +2.6 -25.7 28th 10.2 19.2 low 53%
Davis -13.1 +0.8 -4.7 22nd -20.7 -0.1 -31.0 2nd 8.4 6.4 high 131%
Macquarie Island 5.3 +0.2 7.6 11th 2.2 +0.6 -3.7 31st 111.2 77.8 high 143%
Mawson -13.1 +2.1 -5.2 21st -20.0 +1.4 -29.7 3rd

Daily maximum temperatures for August 2026
Offshore Islands 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Lord Howe Island Aero 17.9 18.2 19.2 19.8 20.6 20.6 20.5 20.5 20.9 20.5 21.3 21.7 19.2 19.9 19.4 18.0 18.1 18.8 18.5 18.6 20.9 20.6 21.8 21.1 21.5 21.6 19.9 19.0 19.6 19.9
Norfolk Island Aero 16.7 18.2 17.5 17.7 18.6 18.7 19.0 18.3 19.0 19.1 20.1 20.8 20.0 19.0 18.5 18.5 17.5 17.2 18.0 18.4 18.9 19.7 19.7 19.7 19.8 20.1 19.6 19.1 18.8 18.0 19.3
Christmas Island Aero 26.4 26.5 27.0 26.4 27.0 27.1 27.0 26.8 26.8 27.2 24.0 26.1 26.0 25.6 26.2 26.6 26.5 27.0 26.8 26.6 26.8 27.4 27.3 26.3 26.8 27.0 27.1 26.7
Cocos Island Airport 30.2 30.6 29.8 29.7 31.4 30.9 31.0 29.9 31.0 29.2 28.3 28.9 28.4 28.5 29.2 30.5 30.4 30.7 30.0 31.3 31.3 29.3 30.8 30.3 30.6 30.6 28.8 29.9 29.5 29.7 29.1
Antarctica and Macquarie Island 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Casey -8.5 -6.2 -6.8 -1.8 -5.9 -10.0 -11.6 -4.7 -2.4 -7.8 -9.7 -11.7 -12.5 -5.1 -3.7 -5.6 -5.1 -0.3 -0.9 -5.6 -9.9 -8.2 -10.5 -8.7 -8.4 -17.7 -18.0 -16.2 -11.6 -18.3 -4.2
Davis -23.8 -22.2 -18.4 -18.1 -14.4 -14.4 -9.6 -15.1 -8.9 -8.9 -16.7 -14.5 -13.8 -10.6 -5.1 -8.4 -10.7 -12.9 -18.0 -7.0 -4.9 -4.7 -6.7 -12.9 -8.5 -9.1 -14.2 -16.8 -18.4 -20.8 -18.3
Macquarie Island 5.3 3.0 1.8 4.9 5.2 5.6 7.0 6.3 6.0 7.4 7.6 7.1 6.4 3.1 4.8 5.8 5.5 6.2 6.5 6.4 5.8 5.7 6.2 5.4 3.0 4.9 5.7 6.0 4.1 4.0 2.0
Mawson -19.8 -20.0 -20.7 -16.7 -14.1 -14.1 -12.6 -17.3 -12.4 -13.2 -16.6 -18.8 -13.5 -12.2 -8.0 -7.3 -13.4 -14.5 -12.5 -9.7 -5.2 -5.7 -7.4 -7.7 -10.1 -9.2 -11.2 -15.0 -11.5 -17.0 -18.0
Values are the maximum temperature, usually in the 24 hours from 9 am on the day indicated,
and typically occurred in the afternoon of that day.
Temperatures coloured according to their difference
from the long-term average for the period
-10.0 -9.0 -8.0 -7.0 -6.0 -5.0 -4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 +1.0 +2.0 +3.0 +4.0 +5.0 +6.0 +7.0 +8.0 +9.0 +10.0 °C Grey outline marks highest
and lowest for the period

Daily minimum temperatures for August 2026
Offshore Islands 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Lord Howe Island Aero 14.7 13.8 12.4 10.6 14.0 14.1 11.7 9.1 11.2 13.9 17.2 17.3 13.6 16.6 14.8 14.7 12.8 14.2 15.4 13.0 12.9 13.7 12.6 13.1 17.1 17.8 16.1 16.6 15.7 14.8
Norfolk Island Aero 13.2 12.6 14.1 10.4 12.1 13.4 15.1 16.1 13.9 15.6 13.2 16.5 12.9 14.3 14.9 13.8 13.6 13.0 13.8 13.0 13.8 12.2 15.6 14.0 14.5 15.6 16.3 17.7 15.4 14.2 14.0
Christmas Island Aero 23.1 22.7 22.6 22.9 23.0 23.0 23.3 22.4 23.3 22.8 22.0 21.4 22.2 21.7 22.1 22.6 22.0 22.7 23.1 22.9 23.1 22.9 23.0 23.2 22.9 22.8 22.9 22.8
Cocos Island Airport 25.1 25.1 25.2 25.1 24.1 26.8 26.6 26.8 26.8 24.5 24.8 24.3 24.1 24.6 24.5 25.1 25.1 25.4 22.0 24.7 26.1 26.2 26.1 26.2 25.3 25.6 25.8 24.9 25.4 25.3 25.3
Antarctica and Macquarie Island 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Casey -20.8 -18.3 -11.1 -15.4 -7.3 -12.0 -21.1 -21.1 -14.2 -11.6 -15.1 -15.3 -16.1 -18.7 -17.5 -10.0 -14.4 -11.2 -6.6 -7.8 -11.7 -16.6 -17.7 -15.0 -15.0 -21.5 -24.6 -25.7 -18.5 -18.7 -25.6
Davis -30.1 -31.0 -26.0 -24.5 -28.7 -28.2 -19.2 -17.6 -19.5 -18.0 -18.9 -25.0 -24.3 -19.8 -17.2 -15.7 -14.7 -17.7 -19.6 -25.9 -18.9 -9.1 -9.4 -15.8 -18.5 -16.5 -17.6 -20.4 -22.6 -25.9 -25.6
Macquarie Island 2.8 1.1 -1.1 -0.4 1.2 4.5 4.4 4.9 2.7 4.5 5.5 4.6 3.5 1.9 -0.2 1.0 4.6 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.1 -1.0 -0.6 -0.7 -1.7 2.0 4.8 2.0 -0.6 -3.7
Mawson -29.0 -28.5 -29.7 -28.4 -27.3 -22.9 -20.5 -23.2 -23.7 -17.7 -20.3 -23.5 -24.3 -23.1 -20.9 -16.5 -16.5 -17.6 -21.9 -21.2 -12.8 -11.6 -10.8 -9.7 -12.4 -12.9 -12.4 -18.8 -20.0 -20.1 -21.9
Values are the minimum temperature, usually in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated,
and typically occurred that morning.
Temperatures coloured according to their difference
from the long-term average for the period
-10.0 -9.0 -8.0 -7.0 -6.0 -5.0 -4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 +1.0 +2.0 +3.0 +4.0 +5.0 +6.0 +7.0 +8.0 +9.0 +10.0 °C Grey outline marks highest
and lowest for the period

Daily rainfall for August 2026
Offshore Islands 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Lord Howe Island (Milky Way) - 0.2 0.2 4.8 0.4 - - - - 0.2 29.2 2.8 0.2 0.8 2.8 2.6 2.0 - 0.4 0.8 5.4 - - 0.4 4.4 - 19.6 - - 1.2 -
Lord Howe Island Aero - - 3.2 - 4.0 0.2 - - - - 27.6 - 1.6 - 0.2 0.8 2.4 - 0.2 0.6 3.2 - - 0.8 3.6 - 15.0 - - 2.6 -
Norfolk Island Aero - 1.0 0.2 1.8 - 3.2 - 1.4 41.6 0.4 - 9.0 - 4.6 1.0 - 0.4 0.4 - 0.2 - - - - - - 0.6 0.4 10.0 0.8 0.8
Christmas Island Aero - - - - - - - - - - 0.4 9.4 4.8 5.0 1.6 0.4 - - - 0.6 - - - - - - - - - 0.4
Cocos Island Airport 7.6 1.6 - 4.2 44.2 - - - - 11.8 3.0 0.4 9.8 2.2 1.2 - - - - - - - - - 0.2 - - - - - 0.2
Antarctica and Macquarie Island 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Casey - - 0.2 - 1.6 - - 1.0 - 0.4 - - 2.6 0.2 - - - 3.6 0.6
Davis - 0.1 - 0.2 0.1 - - 0.8 - 0.8 - - - - - - - - - 0.8 0.6 - 5.0 - - - - - - - -
Macquarie Island 3.0 10.6 1.8 0.8 2.2 - - 0.8 0.4 0.4 4.6 13.2 8.6 8.4 8.8 1.4 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.2 6.6 0.4 1.4 5.0 7.2 2.6 - 10.6 4.2 4.0 2.8
Most values are the precipitation in the 24 hours to 9 am on the day indicated. Days marked with → are part of a longer accumulation, which is shown on the final day.
Values over 100 mm have been rounded to the nearest whole millimetre.
Days marked with - have a rainfall report of zero; days left blank have no rainfall report (which often indicates no rain fell).
Rainfalls coloured
according to the amount
0 1.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 25.0 50.0 100 150 200 300 400 600 millimetres

Map of the areas covered by this summary

Notes

The Monthly climate summary, usually published in the first week of the following month, lists the main features of the weather in Remote Islands and Antarctica using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated.

This statement has been prepared based on information available on Thursday 3 September 2026. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases, the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.

Averages for individual sites are long-term means based on observations from all available years of record, excluding the current year. The length of record can vary widely from site to site. Averages are not shown for sites with fewer than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site, based on the decile ranking (very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.

Information about Australian Indigenous seasonal calendars is available at the Indigenous Weather Knowledge website.

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