Australian weather: Is it always hot in Australia?

No, it is not always hot in Australia. The Australian weather patterns mean winters in the southern states can get chilly. The Australian climate varies dramatically depending on what part of the country you’re in. Average temperatures in Australian cities are very different in, say, Hobart and Darwin.

Detailed answer: Australia has a not entirely undeserved reputation as a very hot place. One where temperatures range between beach weather and raging inferno. For the record, the Australian weather means the country can get very hot indeed – expect several days at 40°C or more in summer. And, frankly, autumn in Australia can feel like the height of summer elsewhere.

But the Australian weather is also cold enough for the country to have skifields. Thredbo in New South Wales and Mt Baw Baw in Victoria are amongst them. While it rarely reaches freezing point outside Australia’s highest mountains, temperatures can dip into single figures during June, July and August. Full Australian weather forecasts can be found on the Bureau of Meteorology website.

Walkers on Thredbo to Mt Kosciuszko walk, New South Wales — Two ‘climbers’ taking on the walk up Mt Kosziuszko, the highest mountain in Australia.

It’s also a mistake to talk about Australia as a single climate. The northern half of the country basically has two seasons. It’s hot and wet from roughly November to April, and warm and dry from May to October. Don’t expect the temperature to dip below 20°C very often in Cairns, Darwin or Broome. And the sunniest month in Sydney is not necessarily the sunniest month in the Whitsundays or the best time to visit Uluru.

The southern half of the country can get blisteringly hot summers – January and February are particularly roasting – but still gets the odd surprisingly nippy day for the rest of the year. For a rough idea of the coldest you’ll expect, the average high and low July temperatures of the major cities are as follows.

Australian city temperatures in winter

Sydney: 17° / 8°

Melbourne: 14° / 7°

Brisbane: 21° / 10°

Perth: 18° / 10°

Adelaide 16° / 9°

Canberra: 11° / 0°

Hobart: 12° / 5°

Darwin: 31° / 19

Australian holiday weather

These temperatures should give a rough idea of what to expect elsewhere, but the city weather doesn’t always match up with that of the rest of the state. Australia Travel Questions is busy putting together pages about the weather in various popular Australian holiday destinations. Links to the pieces published so far can be found below.

climate weather