New Caledonia Climate
Top 5 Cities: Nouméa, Mont-Dore, Dumbéa, Paita, and Lifou
This month in numbers
New Caledonia experienced its 5th warmest April on record in 2026, with an average temperature of 24.49°C, marking an anomaly of +1.6°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C. The three-month period from February to April 2026 also ranked as the 9th warmest on record for New Caledonia, with an average temperature of 24.97°C, an anomaly of +1°C.
What changed
The recent three-month period (February–April 2026) saw New Caledonia experiencing significantly warmer conditions, ranking 9th warmest on record. This trend aligns with a broader global pattern, as global land temperatures for the same period ranked 2nd warmest on record, with an anomaly of +1.2°C. New Caledonia's 1-month anomaly of +1.58°C places it 134th out of 234 regions globally, while its 3-month anomaly of +1.00°C ranks it 190th. The country's latest full-year average temperature in 2025 was 23.08°C, making it the 5th warmest year on record, continuing a long-term warming trend of +0.84°C since the 1961–1990 baseline.
What’s driving change?
The warming trend in New Caledonia is influenced by the broader , where tropical regions are experiencing significant temperature increases. The current ENSO state is Neutral, with an anomaly of +0.11°C for February–April 2026 in the Niño 3.4 region. However, forecasts indicate a strong likelihood of El Niño developing in the coming months, with a 61% chance for May–July and increasing to 87% for July–September. El Niño typically brings warmer and drier conditions to New Caledonia. The 2025–26 South Pacific cyclone season, which officially concluded on April 30, 2026, was notably inactive, tied as the least active on record with only two tropical cyclones forming. This inactivity was largely attributed to a poorly organised South Pacific Convergence Zone and the failure of a predicted La Niña to materialise. Despite the low number of named storms, the season did see the rapid intensification of Cyclone Vaianu in April, which became the most intense system of the period.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
Loading climate data...
Data Sources
Data Sources for New Caledonia
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in New Caledonia changing?
New Caledonia is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for New Caledonia come from?
Climate data for New Caledonia comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the New Caledonia climate data cover?
The New Caledonia climate profile covers Nouméa, Mont-Dore, Dumbéa, Paita and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for New Caledonia
How often is the New Caledonia climate update refreshed?
The New Caledonia climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.