Papua New GuineaLouisiade ArchipelagoVolcanic island
Rossel Island
297 km² rising to 838 m out of the Solomon Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
297km²
Area
153km
Coastline
838m
Highest point
Mount Rossel
5,000
People
29°C
Warmest sea
January
1,022km
To the mainland
When to go to Rossel Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in January (29 °C) and coolest in August (26 °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 in Papua New Guinea
Rossel Island is an volcanic island in Papua New Guinea. It belongs to Louisiade Archipelago. It covers 297 km², with 153 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Rossel, rises to 838 m. About 5,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,022 km away.
Getting there
- 1,022 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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On the island
What you find on Rossel Island.
- 1beaches
- 9named peaksMount Rossel, Mount Iova, Mount Kwa and 6 more
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 153 m above the sea. 71 % of it is below 200 m.
- 30 %0–50 m
- 41 %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.
20 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 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 198 | 204 | 236 | 218 | 180 | 156 | 118 | 94 | 117 | 138 | 154 | 147 |
| Wet days | 23 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| Sun h/day | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 8.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 17 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 28 | 29 | 24 | 21 | 16 |
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 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 |
| 2021 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.0 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +2.2 | +2.1 | +2.1 | +2.2 | +2.0 | +2.0 | +1.4 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 |
| 2025 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +1.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q2002440) · 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 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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