Papua New Guinea
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
7,405km²
Area
867km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,379m
Highest point
Mount Taron
100,000
People
30°C
Warmest sea
November
1,112km
To the mainland
When to go to New Ireland
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 of the Bismarck Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean
New Ireland is an island in Papua New Guinea. It covers 7,405 km², with 867 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Taron, rises to 2,379 m. About 100,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,112 km away.
Getting there
- Kavieng Airport (KVG)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- 1,112 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 New Ireland.
- 2named peaksHP New Ireland, Mount Konagaiang
- 4hotels, 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.
Cross-checked with our atlases
New Ireland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside New Ireland, each with its own numbers.
5beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
29.9°C
Kombon Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
5 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Kombon Beach29.9°C
- Suir Covecove29.9°C
- Muliama Harbourcove29.9°C
- Lawanai Covecove29.9°C
- Lavinia Baycove29.9°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 481 m above the sea. 35 % of it is below 200 m.
- 17 %0–50 m
- 18 %50–200 m
- 26 %200–500 m
- 24 %500–1,000 m
- 14 %1,000–2,000 m
- <1 %> 2,000 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.
200 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Namatanai1,542 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 285 | 249 | 259 | 228 | 184 | 208 | 243 | 192 | 202 | 173 | 195 | 210 |
| Wet days | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 25 |
| Sun h/day | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 6.5 | 5.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
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 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q215089) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| 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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