Papua New Guinea Climate – June 2026 Update
Top 5 Cities: Port Moresby, Lae, Arawa, Mount Hagen, and Popondetta
This month in numbers
Papua New Guinea experienced its 4th warmest June on record, with an average temperature of 23.74°C, marking an anomaly of +1.3°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. Globally, June 2026 was the 3rd warmest June on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1°C. The April–June 2026 period also ranked as the 6th warmest on record for Papua New Guinea, with an average temperature of 24.01°C, an anomaly of +1.2°C.
What changed
Papua New Guinea has been experiencing significantly warmer conditions, with June's temperature anomaly of +1.3°C following similar anomalies in previous months this year, including +1.7°C in January, +1.4°C in February, +1.5°C in March, +1.0°C in April, and +1.3°C in May. The country's average temperature for 2025 was 24.34°C, making it the warmest year on record. This trend aligns with the global picture, as global land temperatures for April–June 2026 ranked as the 2nd warmest on record.
What’s driving change?
The primary driver for the current conditions in Papua New Guinea is a weak El Niño, which has been officially confirmed and is expected to strengthen. This El Niño event is typically associated with warmer and drier conditions for Maritime Southeast Asia, including Papua New Guinea, and has already led to significant impacts. The country is currently facing drought conditions, falling water levels, and frost in the Highlands region, threatening food security for up to 3 million people. The Papua New Guinea National Weather Service has indicated that El Niño is causing severe drought and damaging frost by shifting rainfall away from the country and reducing moisture levels. Additionally, Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila impacted Papua New Guinea in April, affecting over 143,000 people and causing 55 fatalities, with ongoing humanitarian needs.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
At a Glance
Temperature – Average
Year-on-Year Trends
The 4byo Climate Helix – Papua New Guinea
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (rainfall: World Bank CCKP / CRU TS 4.08). Baseline: first 30 yrs on record. Recent: last 10 yrs on record.
Papua New Guinea – Monthly Temperature – All Years
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (rainfall: World Bank CCKP / CRU TS 4.08). Baseline: first 30 yrs on record. Recent: last 10 yrs on record.
Records – Papua New Guinea
Our World in Data / NOAA - Anomalies vs 1901-2000 mean
Shifting Seasons
Weakly seasonalKöppen Af · TropicalPapua New Guinea is weakly seasonal - temperature barely changes across the year (1.1°C range) and rainfall is fairly even. The clearest climate signal here is overall warming: monthly temperature has risen in every month.
Baseline vs recent monthly temperature climatology. Biggest warming: Jan (+1.6°C). The warmest month has shifted from Dec to Jan.
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (rainfall: World Bank CCKP / CRU TS 4.08). Baseline: first 30 yrs on record. Recent: last 10 yrs on record.
Rainfall & Precipitation
Rainfall & Rain Days – Totals
Headline: anomaly vs the 1961–1990 mean. Small figure: the actual value. Rank: position in the full record (1st = highest ever). Record: highest (or lowest) value on record with its year.
Climate Systems
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Emissions & Energy
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Explore Climate Data
Data Sources
Data Sources for Papua New Guinea
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 Papua New Guinea changing?
Papua New Guinea 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 headline panel also shows the long-term trend rate per decade and the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Papua New Guinea come from?
Climate data for Papua New Guinea 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 Papua New Guinea climate data cover?
The Papua New Guinea climate profile covers Port Moresby, Lae, Arawa, Mount Hagen and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Papua New Guinea
How often is the Papua New Guinea climate update refreshed?
The Papua New Guinea 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.