Climate of Australia

by a2zgov · Published April 8, 2022 · Updated April 4, 2022

Australia’s climate makes it an attractive holiday destination throughout the year, but keep in mind that the seasons in Australia are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere. The major southern cities are located in the temperate zone; to the north, approximately 40% of the country is tropical.

Climate, best time and seasons to visit Australia

– Sydney and the Sydney area: all year round.

– Great Barrier Reef: all year round. In the summer season (October – May), the beaches of the east coast are often teeming with jellyfish.

– Northern Tropics: Kakadu Nature Park is open from May to September. Monsoons (December – February) can bring trouble, and sometimes flooded Outback roads.

– Semi- arid Center (Earth Rock): best to visit in March-August, avoiding the high heat when the shade is over 40C.

– Temperate Southwest: September to May. Places south of Perth should not be visited in winter (July – August), when the weather there can be cool and damp.

– Tasmania: summer (November – March). Many national parks are only open during the December-February season.

Australia is located in two climatic zones – tropical and temperate, however, due to the size of the country, there are areas with different climates within these zones. Since Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, the order of the seasons is a mirror image of the northern hemisphere. This means that when it is winter in the northern hemisphere, it is summer in Australia and this is the best time to visit the southern half of the country, including the cities and areas of Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. And the Australian winter, known as the dry season, is the best time to visit the northern regions of the country, including Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, Darwin and Kakadu National Park, Broome and Kimberley.

Tropical climate zone:

Approximately 40% of Australia is in the tropics. There are only two seasons here – tropical summer (rainy season) and dry winter (dry season). The Tropic of Capricorn passes through the tropical part of Australia: the tropics include the northern regions of Queensland and Western Australia. In summer (especially from December to February), the weather in the tropical zone is hot and humid.
Rainy season (summer): October – March
Dry season (winter): April – September

Temperate climate zone:

The territories south of the Tropic of Capricorn are located in the temperate climate zone, which has all seasons. The weather here is great all year round.
Spring: September – November
Summer: December – February
Autumn: March – May
Winter: June – August

In the table you can see information about the temperature of air, water, as well as the amount of precipitation in different seasons of the year.

	Summer			Autumn			Winter			Spring
	Dec	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov
Adelaide
to C air max.	27	29	29	26	22	19	16	15	16	19	22	25
to C air min.	15	17	17	15	12	10	8	7	8	9	11	14
Precipitation, mm	29	21	11	25	38	58	79	82	69	62	43	29
No. of rain. days	7	4	4	6	8	12	15	17	17	14	10	8
Alice Springs / Ayers Rock
to C air max.	35	36	35	33	28	23	20	20	22	27	31	34
to C air min.	20	21	21	17	13	8	5	4	6	10	15	18
Precipitation, mm	36	36	42	34	13	21	15	15	11	9	20	25
No. of rain. days	6	5	5	3	2	3	3	3	2	2	5	5
Great Barrier Reef (Cairns area)
to C air max.	31	31	31	31	29	28	26	26	27	28	29	31
to C air min.	22	24	24	23	22	20	18	17	17	19	21	22
Precipitation, mm	177	406	433	423	196	99	49	30	27	35	40	89
No. of rain. days	13	18	19	19	17	14	9	9	8	8	8	10
to C water	28	29	29	29	27	26	24	23	23	24	26	28
Brisbane / Gold Coast
to C air max.	29	29	29	28	26	23	21	21	22	24	26	27
to C air min.	20	21	21	20	17	14	11	9	10	13	16	18
Precipitation, mm	126	160	173	104	89	98	70	62	41	33	93	96
No. of rain. days	11	13	14	14	11	10	7	7	6	7	10	10
to C water	25	27	27	26	25	24	22	21	21	21	22	24
Darwin
to C air max.	33	32	31	32	33	32	31	30	31	32	33	33
to C air min.	25	25	25	24	24	22	20	19	21	23	25	25
Precipitation, mm	243	431	344	316	98	22	1	1	6	16	72	144
No. of rain. days	16	21	20	19	9	2	1	0	1	2	6	12
Melbourne
to C air max.	24	26	26	24	20	17	14	13	15	17	20	22
to C air min.	13	14	14	13	11	9	7	6	7	8	9	11
Precipitation, mm	60	49	47	52	58	57	50	48	51	59	68	60
No. of rain. days	11	8	7	9	12	14	14	15	16	15	14	12
Perth
to C air max.	29	35	35	29	25	21	19	18	18	20	22	25
to C air min.	15	17	17	16	13	10	nine	8	8	9	10	13
Precipitation, mm	12	7	16	15	42	106	174	163	118	70	47	27
No. of rain. days	4	2	3	4	8	13	17	18	16	13	10	7
to C water	21	22	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	18	19	20
Sydney
to C air max.	25	26	26	25	22	19	17	16	18	20	22	24
to C air min.	17	19	19	17	15	11	9	8	9	11	13	16
Precipitation, mm	79	104	117	131	126	121	131	99	80	70	77	83
No. of rain. days	12	12	12	13	12	12	11	10	10	10	11	11
to C water	21	22	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	18	19	20