Sydney is 2.1°C (3.8°F) warmer by day, Sydney has 5.6°C (10.1°F) warmer nights, Sydney gets 211 mm (8.3 in) more rain a year.
Melbourne is at its warmest in February 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 January, February and March in Melbourne and March, April and December in Sydney.
| Melbourne | Metric | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 19°C | 🌡️Average daytime high | 21.1°C |
| 10.5°C | 🌙Average nighttime low | 16.1°C |
| February | 🔥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 10.5°C (50.9°F) while Sydney settles near 16.1°C (61°F).
Melbourne is hottest in February 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 March, April and December.
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 | 14.6 | 20.1 | 25.5 | 20.2 | 22.8🔥 | 25.4 |
| February | 14.9 | 20.3🔥 | 25.7 | 20.5 | 22.8 | 25.1 |
| March | 14.1 | 18.9 | 23.7 | 19.6 | 21.8 | 24 |
| April | 11.7 | 15.8 | 20 | 17.5 | 19.7 | 21.9 |
| May | 9.5 | 13 | 16.4 | 15 | 17.2 | 19.3 |
| June | 7.4 | 10.4 | 13.4 | 12.6 | 14.7 | 16.8 |
| July | 6.4 | 9.5❄️ | 12.6 | 11.4 | 13.8❄️ | 16.1 |
| August | 6.7 | 10.1 | 13.5 | 11.7 | 14.4 | 17.1 |
| September | 7.8 | 11.6 | 15.4 | 13.4 | 16.3 | 19.3 |
| October | 9.2 | 13.7 | 18.1 | 15.2 | 18.2 | 21.2 |
| November | 11.2 | 16 | 20.8 | 16.9 | 19.7 | 22.5 |
| December | 12.8 | 18 | 23.2 | 18.7 | 21.5 | 24.3 |
| Annual Avg | 10.5 | 14.8 | 19 | 16.1 | 18.6 | 21.1 |
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.
Sydney is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 21.1°C (70°F) against 19°C (66.2°F) in Melbourne — roughly 2.1°C (3.8°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in Sydney, with average lows of 16.1°C (61°F) versus 10.5°C (50.9°F).
Melbourne is hottest in February, averaging highs of about 25.7°C (78.2°F), while Sydney peaks in January at around 25.4°C (77.7°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 6.4°C (43.6°F), compared with 11.4°C (52.6°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 January, February and March, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
Sydney is at its most pleasant around March, April and December, 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 4.7°C (8.5°F), and narrowest in February, about 2.5°C (4.5°F).
Melbourne has the bigger seasonal swing, about 10.8°C (19.4°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 9°C (16.2°F) in Sydney — so Sydney has the steadier, more even climate.
It depends what matters most to you: choose Sydney for warmer weather and pick Melbourne if you prefer drier conditions. There is no single "better" climate — it comes down to whether you value warmth, dryness or comfort most.
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.
