When Can I Be Outside?

Hour-by-hour windows for outdoor time in Birdsville's heat, on the published heat and air-quality scales — in plain words.

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About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for Birdsville and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Hour by hour today

5–10 amComfortableNothing flagged on either scale.

10 am–1 pmMostly fineFeels like up to 31°C (NWS Caution).

1–8 pmHarder goingFeels like up to 35°C (NWS Extreme Caution).

8–9 pmMostly fineFeels like up to 32°C (NWS Caution).

UV peaks near 9 today. On the EPA’s UV index scale, 1–2 is low; 8 and above is very high to extreme and calls for extra sun protection.

The next two days

Day	Best windows	Peak feels-like	Peak air
Tuesday 13 October	before 10 am, and after 6 pm	33°C	74 · Moderate
Wednesday 14 October	No comfortable window	28°C	117 · Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

Some hours in this outlook reach the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” band (AQI 101–150). The EPA’s guidance for that band: members of sensitive groups — including people with asthma — may experience health effects, while the general public is less likely to be affected.

How this page decides

Heat uses the National Weather Service’s heat-index categories, applied to the modelled feels-like temperature: Caution 27°C–32°C, Extreme Caution 32°C–39°C, Danger 39°C–51°C, Extreme Danger 52°C and up.

Air uses the US EPA air quality index: Good 0–50, Moderate 51–100, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101–150, Unhealthy 151–200, Very Unhealthy 201–300, Hazardous above that. The number here is that same EPA index, computed by Open-Meteo from the Copernicus CAMS model.

Each hour takes the harder of the two constraints, and the strip says which one. A “best window” means hours where the feels-like temperature stays below 27°C (below the NWS Caution band) and the air is no worse than Moderate — the EPA’s general-population activity cautions start at 101. No thresholds on this page are ours.

Reading it for your plans

Heading out to Big Red or the dunes

The dune country west of town has no shade and bakes through the middle of the day. Walk it early or late, carry far more water than you think you need, and turn back as it heats up.

Working on the car or changing a tyre

Roadside jobs in full sun are where the heat catches people out. Do them in the cool of the morning where you can, and rest in shade between.

Worth knowing

One of Queensland's hottest places

Birdsville regularly passes 45°C in summer and has recorded around 49.5°C — among the highest readings in the state. Median rainfall is only about 133 mm a year.

Source: Wikipedia — Birdsville (climate), checked 14 June 2026

How locals handle it

The day's rhythm is built around the heat — out early and late, and a dash to the pool or the billabong through the middle of the day. Treat that as the sensible pattern, not toughing it out.

Source: Redland City Bulletin, checked 14 June 2026