Adelaide's Climate

Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate with warm, sunny weather for most of the year.
Annual sunshine hours are high, at over 2,500 hours.

Rainfall comes mainly in winter. Unlike the east coast cities of Sydney and Brisbane, Adelaide’s skies are cloudier in winter than in summer.

On an overcast, windy day in winter, you’ll hear people in Adelaide complain about the “freezing” weather. People coming from North America or Northern Europe should get this into perspective. A bad winter’s day in Adelaide would probably start at around three or four degrees Celsius and reach a maximum of thirteen degrees Celsius or so. Most winter days are warmer than this.

In fact, Adelaide enjoys many pleasant winter days when, in the afternoon, you can sit comfortably in your garden wearing shorts and a light top.

There are two main climate hazards in summer – sunburn and extreme heat. On a few days each summer the mercury rises rapidly as temperatures push above 40 degrees Celsius. By any stretch of the imagination, these are extreme temperatures. The best thing you can do on these days is stay at home with your air-conditioning on maximum.

If you prefer to avoid the most extreme heat, you might want to consider buying a house in the hills above the city. Alternatively, seaside locations don’t get quite as hot as inland suburbs.

Sea temperatures around Adelaide are lower than those around Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.

Despite the occasional extreme day, most people find summers in Adelaide more pleasant than those in Sydney, Brisbane or Perth. These cities have higher humidities than Adelaide; Adelaide enjoys the lowest humidities of any Australian city.

Adelaide’s Climate Figures

Month	Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC)	Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC)	Av. Days with Rainfall	Av. after noon Humidity	Av. hours Sunshine (per day)
Jan.	31	17	5	30	10
Feb.	30	17	4	30	9
Mar.	27	15	5	35	8
Apr.	23	13	10	45	6
May	19	10	13	55	5
Jun.	16	8	16	65	4
Jul.	15	7	17	65	4
Aug.	17	8	16	55	5
Sep.	19	9	13	50	6
Oct.	23	11	11	40	7
Nov.	26	13	7	35	8
Dec.	29	16	6	30	9