Comparing Climates of Australia's Cities
Australia’s climates.
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth.
Although Australia’s big coastal cities get more rainfall than the dry interior of the continent, every city can experience drought.
Recently Australia has been getting drier with the result that desalination plants are being built to provide extra water for the cities.
The climate tables below are made up of averages. The old adage of lies, damned lies and statistics applies, so the averages have to be treated cautiously.
For example, in January, the tables show Melbourne and Sydney have almost the same sunshine hours. They also have almost identical average daily maximum temperatures. This might lead us to think they enjoy similar summer weather – but with higher humidity in Sydney.
The reality is that Sydney’s summer temperatures are much less variable than Melbourne’s. Melbourne’s average temperature is made up of more very hot days and more cool days than Sydney’s.
All of Australia’s cities can suffer summer heat-waves, when hot, dry air blows out from the desert. Heat waves invariably lead to water restrictions and a high risk of bush-fires which, in recent years, have caused a great deal of damage and several deaths.
Brisbane
| Month | Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC)  |
Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC)  |
Av. Days with Rainfall  |
Av. Afternoon Humidity |
Av. hours Sunshine (per day)  |
| Jan. | 29 | 21 | 13 | 60 | 8 |
| Feb. | 30 | 20 | 14 | 60 | 7 |
| Mar. | 28 | 19 | 14 | 60 | 7 |
| Apr. | 26 | 17 | 12 | 55 | 7 |
| May | 23 | 13 | 10 | 55 | 7 |
| Jun. | 21 | 11 | 8 | 55 | 7 |
| Jul. | 21 | 10 | 8 | 50 | 7 |
| Aug. | 22 | 10 | 8 | 50 | 8 |
| Sep. | 24 | 13 | 8 | 50 | 8 |
| Oct. | 27 | 17 | 9 | 55 | 8 |
| Nov. | 28 | 18 | 10 | 55 | 8 |
| Dec. | 29 | 20 | 12 | 55 | 8 |
Sydney
| Month | Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Days with Rainfall |
Av. Afternoon Humidity |
Av. hours Sunshine (per day) |
| Jan. | 26 | 19 | 12 | 65 | 8 |
| Feb. | 26 | 19 | 12 | 65 | 7 |
| Mar. | 25 | 17 | 13 | 65 | 7 |
| Apr. | 23 | 14 | 12 | 65 | 7 |
| May | 20 | 11 | 13 | 66 | 6 |
| Jun. | 17 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 6 |
| Jul. | 17 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 7 |
| Aug. | 18 | 8 | 10 | 55 | 8 |
| Sep. | 20 | 11 | 12 | 55 | 8 |
| Oct. | 22 | 13 | 12 | 55 | 8 |
| Nov. | 24 | 16 | 12 | 60 | 8 |
| Dec. | 26 | 17 | 13 | 60 | 8 |
Melbourne
| Month | Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Days with Rainfall |
Av. Afternoon Humidity |
Av. hours Sunshine (per day) |
| Jan. | 26 | 14 | 9 | 50 | 8 |
| Feb. | 26 | 14 | 8 | 50 | 8 |
| Mar. | 24 | 13 | 9 | 50 | 6 |
| Apr. | 20 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 5 |
| May | 17 | 8 | 15 | 60 | 4 |
| Jun. | 14 | 7 | 16 | 65 | 3 |
| Jul. | 13 | 6 | 17 | 65 | 4 |
| Aug. | 15 | 6 | 17 | 60 | 4 |
| Sep. | 17 | 8 | 15 | 55 | 5 |
| Oct. | 19 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 6 |
| Nov. | 22 | 11 | 13 | 50 | 7 |
| Dec. | 25 | 12 | 10 | 50 | 7 |
Adelaide
| Month | Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Days with Rainfall |
Av. Afternoon 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 |
Perth
| Month | Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC) |
Av. Days with Rainfall |
Av. Afternoon Humidity |
Av. hours Sunshine (per day) |
| Jan. | 30 | 18 | 3 | 45 | 11 |
| Feb. | 30 | 17 | 3 | 45 | 10 |
| Mar. | 27 | 16 | 5 | 45 | 9 |
| Apr. | 24 | 14 | 8 | 50 | 7 |
| May | 21 | 12 | 15 | 60 | 6 |
| Jun. | 19 | 10 | 17 | 65 | 5 |
| Jul. | 17 | 9 | 18 | 65 | 5 |
| Aug. | 18 | 10 | 19 | 60 | 6 |
| Sep. | 19 | 10 | 15 | 60 | 7 |
| Oct. | 21 | 12 | 12 | 55 | 9 |
| Nov. | 24 | 14 | 6 | 50 | 10 |
| Dec. | 28 | 17 | 5 | 45 | 11 |