Sydney's Climate

Sydney's Climate

Sydney enjoys a temperate, humid climate with abundant sunshine. The sunshine is well spread through the year. In fact, Sydney basks in more blue-sky days in winter than in summer. Given the strong summer sun, this is considered a blessing by many of Sydney's fair-skinned citizens.

In times gone by Sydney has been prone to droughts, but has usually had a decent amount of year-round rainfall. Like much of Australia, however, Sydney's climate appears to be getting drier. The city has had fewer rain days in recent years than shown in the long-term climate table below.

Water levels in the city's reservoirs have been a growing cause for concern - in June 2005 reservoirs were at all-time lows, despite almost two years of water restrictions. In 2006, work on dams around Sydney had expanded the city's water supply and by 2008 dams were again two-thirds full, compared with just over one-third full at times in 2005.

A desalination plant is planned to provide up to fifteen percent of Sydney's water supply. The plant will produce drinkable seawater by removing the salt. Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions have been allayed because the desalination plant will be run using renewable energy. In addition to desalination, Sydney's water recycling capacity is being greatly increased.

As a coastal city, afternoon sea breezes are the norm in Sydney and these can be very refreshing on a humid summer's day. On calm days, however, the city's worsening smog from millions of vehicles can become more noticeable. The temperatures in the table below are typical for suburbs near the coast. Inland, in Sydney's western suburbs, summer highs are around 2 degrees Centigrade higher and winter lows around 2 degrees lower than the coastal suburbs.

Most people find Sydney's climate is agreeable all year round - the main reservations are the summer humidity and the strength of the sun in the summer months (this is a concern in all Australian cities).

Sea temperatures around Sydney are very pleasant and Sidneysiders make full use of their ocean playground for swimming, yachting and watersports.


    Sydney

Month	Av. Daily Maximum Temp. (OC)	Av. Daily Minimum Temp. (OC)	Av. Days with Rainfall	Av. Afternoon Humidity	Av. hours Sunshine (per day)
Jan.	26	19	12	65	8
Feb.	26	19	12	65	7
Mar.	25	17	13	65	7
Apr.	23	14	12	65	7
May	20	11	13	66	6
Jun.	17	8	12	60	6
Jul.	17	8	12	60	7
Aug.	18	8	10	55	8
Sep.	20	11	12	55	8
Oct.	22	13	12	55	8
Nov.	24	16	12	60	8
Dec.	26	17	13	60	8