Canberra climate

Name: Canberra
Address: AU

Canberra is warmest in January, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 1.6 °C. November is the wettest month (60 mm) and April the driest (28 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Canberra averages 562 mm of rain, 65 days above 25 °C and 32 days below freezing.

Australia · population 367,752 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month January 27 °C
Coldest month July 1.6 °C
Driest month April 28 mm
Wettest month November 60 mm
Least cloud September 49 % cloud
Hottest on record January 42 °C
Coldest on record July -6.1 °C

What to expectCanberra through the year

Canberra has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 10 °C in July to 27 °C in January, a swing of 15 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 65 days a year reach 25 °C, 18 of them reach 30 °C, 32 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 42 °C, in January.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 28 mm in April to 60 mm in November. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	26.9 °C	49 mm	51 %
February	25.4 °C	54 mm	54 %
March	22.6 °C	38 mm	51 %
April	18.7 °C	28 mm	51 %
May	14.4 °C	28 mm	51 %
June	11.0 °C	53 mm	60 %
July	10.1 °C	38 mm	55 %
August	11.5 °C	50 mm	50 %
September	15.0 °C	52 mm	49 %
October	18.7 °C	56 mm	50 %
November	21.7 °C	60 mm	55 %
December	24.5 °C	57 mm	53 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	26.9 °C	14.7 °C	20.3 °C	42.3 °C	5.0 °C	19	8	0
February	25.4 °C	14.2 °C	19.3 °C	40.3 °C	5.9 °C	15	4	0
March	22.6 °C	11.9 °C	16.8 °C	33.1 °C	3.1 °C	8	1	0
April	18.7 °C	8.3 °C	13.0 °C	29.2 °C	-0.7 °C	1	0	0
May	14.4 °C	4.6 °C	8.9 °C	22.6 °C	-2.9 °C	0	0	3
June	11.0 °C	2.8 °C	6.3 °C	18.9 °C	-3.6 °C	0	0	7
July	10.1 °C	1.6 °C	5.2 °C	15.5 °C	-6.1 °C	0	0	11
August	11.5 °C	2.0 °C	6.2 °C	19.8 °C	-3.8 °C	0	0	9
September	15.0 °C	4.5 °C	9.4 °C	26.8 °C	-2.7 °C	0	0	2
October	18.7 °C	7.3 °C	12.7 °C	29.5 °C	-1.1 °C	2	0	0
November	21.7 °C	10.3 °C	15.7 °C	36.7 °C	1.2 °C	7	1	0
December	24.5 °C	12.6 °C	18.2 °C	39.9 °C	3.6 °C	13	3	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	49 mm	7	14 h/day	51 %	64 %	18 km/h
February	54 mm	6	13 h/day	54 %	68 %	17 km/h
March	38 mm	5	12 h/day	51 %	70 %	17 km/h
April	28 mm	4	11 h/day	51 %	74 %	16 km/h
May	28 mm	5	10 h/day	51 %	80 %	15 km/h
June	53 mm	7	9.8 h/day	60 %	84 %	16 km/h
July	38 mm	6	10.0 h/day	55 %	84 %	17 km/h
August	50 mm	7	11 h/day	50 %	80 %	19 km/h
September	52 mm	7	12 h/day	49 %	75 %	20 km/h
October	56 mm	8	13 h/day	50 %	70 %	19 km/h
November	60 mm	8	14 h/day	55 %	68 %	20 km/h
December	57 mm	7	15 h/day	53 %	64 %	19 km/h

How Canberra compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Canberra	27 °C	1.6 °C	562 mm	65
Wollongong · Australia	25 °C	10 °C	880 mm	57
Sydney · Australia	26 °C	9.0 °C	681 mm	69
Central Coast · Australia	26 °C	10 °C	868 mm	71
Newcastle · Australia	26 °C	10 °C	746 mm	80
Melbourne · Australia	26 °C	6.8 °C	616 mm	64
Geelong · Australia	24 °C	7.3 °C	484 mm	46

Where Canberra ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in the world in July	7th of 50	10 °C
The coolest places in the world in August	8th of 50	12 °C
The coolest places in the world in June	10th of 50	11 °C
Places with the best weather in the world in March	15th of 50	95/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Canberra.

QuestionsCommon questions about Canberra’s climate

When is the best time to visit Canberra?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, January is the warmest month and April the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Canberra get?

In January, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 18 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 42 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 1.6 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 32 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Canberra?

November, averaging 60 mm over 8 days with rain. The driest month is April with 28 mm. The year as a whole averages 562 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Canberra rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: -35.283°, 149.128° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.