Climate of Australia

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

Climate of Australia

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