Adelaide is 2.5°C (4.5°F) warmer by day, Melbourne gets 299 mm (11.8 in) more rain a year.
Adelaide is at its warmest in January and coolest in July, while Melbourne peaks in February and bottoms out in July. Month for month, Adelaide is the warmer of the two in 12 of 12 months.
Melbourne is the wetter of the two, collecting 752 mm (29.6 in) of rain a year against 453 mm (17.8 in) in Adelaide. The most comfortable time to visit is January, March and December in Adelaide and January, February and March in Melbourne.
| Adelaide | Metric | Melbourne |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 21.5°C | 🌡️Average daytime high | 19°C |
| 10.7°C | 🌙Average nighttime low | 10.5°C |
| January | 🔥Hottest month | February |
| July | ❄️Coldest month | July |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 453 mm | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 752 mm |
| July | ☔Wettest month | October |
| February | 🏜️Driest month | February |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 65% | 💧Average humidity | 75% |
| 2.8 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 3.3 m/s |
Overnight, Adelaide typically falls to around 10.7°C (51.3°F) while Melbourne settles near 10.5°C (50.9°F).
Adelaide is hottest in January and coldest in July, whereas Melbourne peaks in February and is coolest in July.
Adelaide sees the most rain in July and the least in February; Melbourne is wettest in October and driest in February.
Melbourne feels the more humid of the two, averaging 75% relative humidity against 65%.
For Melbourne, the pick of the year is January, February and March.
Month by month, here is the coldest night, the average day and the hottest afternoon each city can expect. Switch Compare to read rainfall, humidity, wind or solar instead, and Period to move between the long-term 45-year average and any single year — the shading is a quick warm-to-cool guide.
| Month | Adelaide | Melbourne | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 15.4 | 22.3🔥 | 29.3 | 14.6 | 20.1 | 25.5 |
| February | 15.5 | 22.3 | 29.2 | 14.9 | 20.3🔥 | 25.7 |
| March | 14.1 | 20.2 | 26.4 | 14.1 | 18.9 | 23.7 |
| April | 11.6 | 16.9 | 22.2 | 11.7 | 15.8 | 20 |
| May | 9.4 | 13.7 | 18 | 9.5 | 13 | 16.4 |
| June | 7.2 | 11 | 14.8 | 7.4 | 10.4 | 13.4 |
| July | 6.3 | 10❄️ | 13.8 | 6.4 | 9.5❄️ | 12.6 |
| August | 6.5 | 10.7 | 14.9 | 6.7 | 10.1 | 13.5 |
| September | 7.8 | 12.7 | 17.6 | 7.8 | 11.6 | 15.4 |
| October | 9.4 | 15.1 | 20.9 | 9.2 | 13.7 | 18.1 |
| November | 11.7 | 18 | 24.3 | 11.2 | 16 | 20.8 |
| December | 13.6 | 20.2 | 26.9 | 12.8 | 18 | 23.2 |
| Annual Avg | 10.7 | 16.1 | 21.5 | 10.5 | 14.8 | 19 |
Min / mean / max temperature (°C). 🔥 marks each city's hottest month, ❄️ its coldest; shading runs cool blue to warm red.
The same figures plotted out, so the shape of a typical year is easier to see than in a grid. Where the two lines run close together Adelaide and Melbourne feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Adelaide Melbourne
See how Adelaide and Melbourne stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
Choose which city to keep, then search for any other city in our database — we'll build the comparison for you.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Adelaide and Melbourne — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Adelaide is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 21.5°C (70.7°F) against 19°C (66.2°F) in Melbourne — roughly 2.5°C (4.5°F) warmer by day.
Adelaide is hottest in January, averaging highs of about 29.3°C (84.8°F), while Melbourne peaks in February at around 25.7°C (78.2°F). That makes Adelaide the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Adelaide gets colder. In its coldest month (July) overnight lows average about 6.3°C (43.3°F), compared with 6.4°C (43.6°F) at the low point of the year in Melbourne.
Melbourne is the wetter city, collecting about 752 mm (29.6 in) of rain a year versus 453 mm (17.8 in) in Adelaide. Adelaide is wettest in July and driest in February; Melbourne is wettest in October and driest in February.
Melbourne is the more humid of the two, averaging 75% relative humidity over the year against 65% in Adelaide.
The most comfortable months in Adelaide are January, March and December, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
Melbourne is at its most pleasant around January, February and March, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Adelaide is the warmer city in all 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in January, about 2.2°C (4°F), and narrowest in July, about 0.5°C (0.9°F).
Adelaide has the bigger seasonal swing, about 12.3°C (22.1°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 10.8°C (19.4°F) in Melbourne — so Melbourne has the steadier, more even climate.
On climate alone, Adelaide comes out ahead — it offers warmer days, less rain and lower humidity than Melbourne. Melbourne is the better fit only if you'd actually prefer cooler weather, more rainfall and a more humid climate.
Every figure on this page is calculated from NASA POWER satellite climate data spanning 1981–2025 (45 years). The averages describe the long-term climate of Adelaide and Melbourne, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
