Australia
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
3.5km²
Area
9km
Coastline
104m
Highest point
2,938
People
29°C
Warmest sea
December
29km
To the mainland
When to go to Thursday Island
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in December (29 °C) and coolest in August (25 °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 Queensland, Australia
Thursday Island is an island in Australia. It covers 3.5 km², with 9 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 104 m. About 2,938 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 29 km away.
Getting there
- Horn Island Airport (HID)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 8 km in a straight lineCar hire in WeipaDiscover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesTI Ferry, MV Australia Fair, Hammond Island Ferry
- 29 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Thursday Island.
- 1viewpointsLion's Lookout
- 1marinas
- 1ruins and archaeological sitesGreen Hill Fort Coastal Artillery
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
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 25 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 84 %0–50 m
- 16 %50–200 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.
2 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Thursday Island2,805 people
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 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 382 | 366 | 346 | 208 | 68 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 52 | 161 |
| Wet days | 27 | 26 | 25 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 19 |
| Sun h/day | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 7.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 28 | 25 | 18 |
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 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +1.1 | +0.7 |
| 2021 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.2 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2022 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | −0.2 | −0.5 | +0.2 | +1.3 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.4 | −0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +0.5 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Papua New GuineaAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q556632) · 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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