Koumac

Koumac (French pronunciation: [kumak]) is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.

Koumac
Commune
View of the baie des Sables taken from Pandop with Tiebaghi massif in the background
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
Location of Koumac
Coordinates: 20°33′44″S 164°15′43″E
Country	France
Sui generis collectivity	New Caledonia
Province	North Province
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Wilfrid Weiss[1]
Area 1	550.0 km2 (212.4 sq mi)
Population  (2019 census)[2]	3,981
• Density	7.2/km2 (19/sq mi)
Ethnic distribution
• 2019 census	Kanaks 38.33% Europeans 28.16% Wallisians and Futunans 0.98% Mixed 22.51% Other 10.02%
Time zone	UTC+11:00
INSEE/Postal code	98812 /98850
Elevation	0–823 m (0–2,700 ft) (avg. 10 m or 33 ft)
1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.

History

On 5 January 1977 about 46% of the territory of Koumac was detached and became the commune of Poum.

The town of Koumac serves as a regional centre for the far north region of Grande Terre island. It has good connections north and south by road, and several shops, industrial suppliers, and utilities. It is a centre for mining employment, formerly dominated by the mine at Tiébaghi which closed in 1990, and other current operations. Koumac Airport is located a couple kilometres north of the commune with regular flights to Nouméa.

Climate

Koumac has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), although there is still some rain in the dry season which peaks between July and October.

Climate data for Koumac, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1951–present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	34.9 (94.8)	36.0 (96.8)	35.1 (95.2)	33.8 (92.8)	32.2 (90.0)	32.2 (90.0)	30.8 (87.4)	30.9 (87.6)	31.5 (88.7)	33.5 (92.3)	34.6 (94.3)	35.8 (96.4)	36.0 (96.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.2 (86.4)	30.3 (86.5)	29.5 (85.1)	28.5 (83.3)	26.9 (80.4)	25.4 (77.7)	24.4 (75.9)	24.5 (76.1)	25.8 (78.4)	27.2 (81.0)	28.4 (83.1)	29.5 (85.1)	27.6 (81.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.6 (79.9)	26.8 (80.2)	26.2 (79.2)	24.9 (76.8)	23.1 (73.6)	21.7 (71.1)	20.4 (68.7)	20.5 (68.9)	21.5 (70.7)	22.9 (73.2)	24.4 (75.9)	25.7 (78.3)	23.7 (74.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23.0 (73.4)	23.3 (73.9)	22.8 (73.0)	21.3 (70.3)	19.3 (66.7)	18.0 (64.4)	16.5 (61.7)	16.5 (61.7)	17.2 (63.0)	18.7 (65.7)	20.4 (68.7)	21.8 (71.2)	19.9 (67.8)
Record low °C (°F)	15.8 (60.4)	16.9 (62.4)	15.1 (59.2)	14.3 (57.7)	11.5 (52.7)	8.7 (47.7)	8.2 (46.8)	8.5 (47.3)	9.3 (48.7)	11.3 (52.3)	14.5 (58.1)	14.2 (57.6)	8.2 (46.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	157.7 (6.21)	145.2 (5.72)	161.9 (6.37)	80.7 (3.18)	79.6 (3.13)	77.2 (3.04)	45.3 (1.78)	39.7 (1.56)	27.8 (1.09)	23.3 (0.92)	48.6 (1.91)	97.8 (3.85)	984.8 (38.76)
Average precipitation days	9.6	11.0	9.7	6.3	5.1	5.2	4.2	3.6	2.4	2.7	4.4	6.1	70.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours	235.3	198.9	201.2	206.9	192.3	185.0	206.8	224.7	239.5	261.8	250.9	256.4	2,659.7
Source: Météo-France[3]

Famous people

Athlete Arnjolt Beer was born here.^[4]