Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, sits on the northern coast of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, on a narrow coastal plain backed by steep forested mountains at approximately -9.43°S, 159.96°E. It has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — hot, humid and rainy year-round — sheltered somewhat by the ranges behind it.

The warmer, wetter season, from November to April — the austral summer — is hot and humid, with highs around 31–32°C and warm nights. This is when the heaviest rain falls, in frequent downpours and thunderstorms, and it coincides with the South Pacific cyclone season, when tropical cyclones can strike the islands with destructive winds and torrential rain.

The cooler, drier season, from May to October — the austral winter — brings slightly lower temperatures, with highs around 29–30°C and comfortable nights near 22–23°C, cooled by the southeast trade winds. Rain is reduced but never absent; this breezier, brighter stretch is comfortably the best time of year.

Honiara receives on the order of 2,000–2,200 mm of rain a year, with rain in every month and a wet-season peak from December to April; sheltered in the lee of Guadalcanal's mountains, it is considerably drier than the island's windward southern coast, which receives several times as much. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Honiara sits in the rain shadow of Guadalcanal's mountainous spine, which strips the moisture from the southeast trade winds and leaves the capital far drier than the drenched windward coast just across the island. Cyclones and the flash floods that pour off those steep slopes remain the chief hazards.

To follow any single measurement in Honiara more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.