Papua New GuineaVolcanic island
New Hanover Island
1,216 km² rising to 957 m out of the Bismarck Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,216km²
Area
257km
Coastline
957m
Highest point
17,160
People
30°C
Warmest sea
November
1,209km
To the mainland
When to go to New Hanover Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in November (30 °C) and coolest in August (29 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island
New Hanover Island is an volcanic island in Papua New Guinea. It covers 1,216 km², with 257 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 957 m. About 17,160 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,209 km away.
Getting there
- Kavieng Airport (KVG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 62 km in a straight line
- 1,209 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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Cross-checked with our atlases
New Hanover Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside New Hanover Island, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
30.0°C
Palos Bay
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Palos Baycove30.0°C
- Metewoi Baycove30.0°C
- Metemana Baycove30.0°C
- Metekabil Baycove30.0°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 156 m above the sea. 71 % of it is below 200 m.
- 32 %0–50 m
- 39 %50–200 m
- 25 %200–500 m
- 4 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 30 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 280 | 237 | 260 | 236 | 210 | 221 | 284 | 202 | 197 | 170 | 218 | 221 |
| Wet days | 27 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 28 |
| Sun h/day | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 5.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q262035) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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