Melbourne climate

Name: Melbourne
Address: AU

Melbourne is warmest in January, with average highs of 26 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 6.8 °C. November is the wettest month (65 mm) and March the driest (35 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Melbourne averages 616 mm of rain, 64 days above 25 °C and 0 days below freezing.

Australia · population 5,435,590 · 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 26 °C
Coldest month July 6.8 °C
Driest month March 35 mm
Wettest month November 65 mm
Least cloud February 50 % cloud
Hottest on record January 45 °C
Coldest on record August -1.7 °C
Warmest sea February 21 °C

What to expectMelbourne through the year

Melbourne has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 13 °C in July to 26 °C in January, a swing of 10 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 64 days a year reach 25 °C, 24 of them reach 30 °C, 0 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 45 °C, in January.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 35 mm in March to 65 mm in November. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Melbourne is warmest in February at 21 °C and coldest in August at 11 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	25.6 °C	50 mm	51 %
February	25.4 °C	45 mm	50 %
March	23.3 °C	35 mm	52 %
April	19.6 °C	49 mm	57 %
May	16.1 °C	45 mm	62 %
June	13.6 °C	51 mm	63 %
July	13.0 °C	45 mm	60 %
August	13.9 °C	52 mm	58 %
September	16.1 °C	62 mm	59 %
October	18.8 °C	59 mm	59 %
November	21.3 °C	65 mm	60 %
December	23.5 °C	59 mm	57 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C
January	25.6 °C	15.3 °C	19.9 °C	44.5 °C	7.5 °C	14	7
February	25.4 °C	15.3 °C	19.9 °C	44.2 °C	8.5 °C	14	6
March	23.3 °C	13.8 °C	18.1 °C	38.1 °C	6.9 °C	11	3
April	19.6 °C	11.2 °C	15.0 °C	32.4 °C	2.2 °C	3	0
May	16.1 °C	9.3 °C	12.3 °C	25.2 °C	1.2 °C	0	0
June	13.6 °C	7.4 °C	10.1 °C	20.8 °C	-0.6 °C	0	0
July	13.0 °C	6.8 °C	9.5 °C	19.3 °C	-0.9 °C	0	0
August	13.9 °C	7.1 °C	10.1 °C	22.0 °C	-1.7 °C	0	0
September	16.1 °C	8.4 °C	12.0 °C	27.1 °C	1.2 °C	0	0
October	18.8 °C	10.0 °C	14.1 °C	33.2 °C	2.1 °C	3	0
November	21.3 °C	11.8 °C	16.3 °C	41.1 °C	4.7 °C	7	2
December	23.5 °C	13.4 °C	18.1 °C	43.7 °C	6.0 °C	11	5

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	50 mm	6	14 h/day	51 %	64 %	23 km/h	20.1 °C
February	45 mm	5	14 h/day	50 %	66 %	21 km/h	20.7 °C
March	35 mm	5	12 h/day	52 %	67 %	21 km/h	19.9 °C
April	49 mm	7	11 h/day	57 %	71 %	19 km/h	17.7 °C
May	45 mm	9	10 h/day	62 %	77 %	19 km/h	15.2 °C
June	51 mm	10	9.6 h/day	63 %	80 %	20 km/h	13.0 °C
July	45 mm	11	9.8 h/day	60 %	78 %	21 km/h	11.6 °C
August	52 mm	11	11 h/day	58 %	75 %	23 km/h	11.1 °C
September	62 mm	11	12 h/day	59 %	72 %	23 km/h	12.1 °C
October	59 mm	10	13 h/day	59 %	69 %	23 km/h	14.3 °C
November	65 mm	9	14 h/day	60 %	68 %	22 km/h	16.5 °C
December	59 mm	8	15 h/day	57 %	65 %	22 km/h	18.5 °C

How Melbourne 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
Melbourne	26 °C	6.8 °C	616 mm	64
Geelong · Australia	24 °C	7.3 °C	484 mm	46
Canberra · Australia	27 °C	1.6 °C	562 mm	65
Wollongong · Australia	25 °C	10 °C	880 mm	57

Where Melbourne ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in the world in July	20th of 50	13 °C
The coolest places in the world in August	22nd of 50	14 °C
The coolest places in the world in June	24th of 50	14 °C
Places with the best weather in the world in March	35th of 50	94/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Melbourne’s climate

When is the best time to visit Melbourne?

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 March the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Melbourne get?

In January, the warmest month, daily highs average 26 °C. About 24 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 45 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 6.8 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 0 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Melbourne?

November, averaging 65 mm over 9 days with rain. The driest month is March with 35 mm. The year as a whole averages 616 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 Melbourne 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: -37.814°, 144.963° (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.