Melbourne and Sydney have similar daytime temperatures, Sydney has 5.8°C (10.4°F) warmer nights, Sydney gets 211 mm (8.3 in) more rain a year.
Melbourne is at its warmest in January and coolest in July, while Sydney peaks in January and bottoms out in July. Month for month, Sydney is the warmer of the two in 12 of 12 months.
Sydney is the wetter of the two, collecting 963 mm (37.9 in) of rain a year against 752 mm (29.6 in) in Melbourne. The most comfortable time to visit is March, November and December in Melbourne and April, October and November in Sydney.
| Melbourne | Metric | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 26.1°C | 🌡️Average daytime high | 26.5°C |
| 7.2°C | 🌙Average nighttime low | 13°C |
| January | 🔥Hottest month | January |
| July | ❄️Coldest month | July |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 752 mm | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 963 mm |
| October | ☔Wettest month | February |
| February | 🏜️Driest month | September |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 75% | 💧Average humidity | 73% |
| 3.3 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 3.2 m/s |
Overnight, Melbourne typically falls to around 7.2°C (45°F) while Sydney settles near 13°C (55.4°F).
Melbourne is hottest in January and coldest in July, whereas Sydney peaks in January and is coolest in July.
Melbourne sees the most rain in October and the least in February; Sydney is wettest in February and driest in September.
Melbourne feels the more humid of the two, averaging 75% relative humidity against 73%.
For Sydney, the pick of the year is April, October and November.
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 | Melbourne | Sydney | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 11.2 | 23.8🔥 | 36.5 | 17.8 | 25.4🔥 | 32.9 |
| February | 11.5 | 23.4 | 35.3 | 18 | 24.8 | 31.6 |
| March | 10.6 | 21.5 | 32.5 | 16.6 | 22.9 | 29.3 |
| April | 8.3 | 17.6 | 27 | 14 | 20.1 | 26.2 |
| May | 5.9 | 13.7 | 21.6 | 11.4 | 17.2 | 23 |
| June | 3.8 | 10.3 | 16.9 | 9 | 14.4 | 19.8 |
| July | 3 | 9.3❄️ | 15.6 | 8.4 | 14❄️ | 19.6 |
| August | 3.6 | 10.5 | 17.4 | 8.8 | 15 | 21.2 |
| September | 4.6 | 12.8 | 21 | 10.3 | 17.6 | 24.9 |
| October | 6 | 15.9 | 25.7 | 12.1 | 20.1 | 28.1 |
| November | 7.7 | 19 | 30.3 | 13.5 | 21.6 | 29.8 |
| December | 9.6 | 21.6 | 33.6 | 15.7 | 23.7 | 31.8 |
| Annual Avg | 7.2 | 16.6 | 26.1 | 13 | 19.7 | 26.5 |
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 Melbourne and Sydney feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Melbourne Sydney
See how Melbourne and Sydney 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 Melbourne and Sydney — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Melbourne and Sydney are about equally warm. Daytime highs average 26.1°C (79°F) in Melbourne and 26.5°C (79.7°F) in Sydney, so neither is clearly the warmer choice over the year. Nights are milder in Sydney, with average lows of 13°C (55.4°F) versus 7.2°C (45°F).
Melbourne is hottest in January, averaging highs of about 36.5°C (97.6°F), while Sydney peaks in January at around 32.9°C (91.2°F). That makes Melbourne the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Melbourne gets colder. In its coldest month (July) overnight lows average about 3°C (37.3°F), compared with 8.4°C (47.1°F) at the low point of the year in Sydney.
Sydney is the wetter city, collecting about 963 mm (37.9 in) of rain a year versus 752 mm (29.6 in) in Melbourne. Melbourne is wettest in October and driest in February; Sydney is wettest in February and driest in September.
Humidity is similar in both, averaging around 75% in Melbourne and 73% in Sydney across the year.
The most comfortable months in Melbourne are March, November and December, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
Sydney is at its most pleasant around April, October and November, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Sydney is the warmer city in all 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in September, about 4.8°C (8.6°F), and narrowest in March, about 1.4°C (2.5°F).
Melbourne has the bigger seasonal swing, about 14.5°C (26.1°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 11.4°C (20.5°F) in Sydney — so Sydney has the steadier, more even climate.
On climate alone, Melbourne comes out ahead — it offers less rain than Sydney. Sydney is the better fit only if you'd actually prefer more rainfall.
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 Melbourne and Sydney, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
