Canberra is a weather station located 577 m above sea level, 6 km from Queanbeyan. Its records go back to 1914: 103 years of temperature are available up to 2025, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 13.6 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (12.6 °C): a difference of 0.9 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2019 (14.9 °C) and the coldest 1918 (10.9 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 6 out of 103, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.31 °C per decade. The station ranks 17 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1914
The first ten years of the series (1914–1929) average 12.1 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 14.0 °C, a difference of +1.9 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2019 (14.9 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 14.0 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 12.1 °C (1950).
Annual rainfall since 1914
On average 633 mm of rain falls per year over the 73 documented years. The wettest year, 1950, received 1102 mm; the driest, 1944, only 308 mm, which is 3.6 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (598 mm per year) is 71 mm (10.6 %) below the 1961–1990 one (669 mm). Over 1991–2020, December is on average the wettest month (68 mm) and May the driest (32 mm). Between 1990 and 2020, 7 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.
Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020
The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20.1 °C | 21.6 °C | +1.5 °C | 65 mm | 62 mm | −3 mm |
| February | 19.9 °C | 20.7 °C | +0.8 °C | 62 mm | 59 mm | −3 mm |
| March | 17.4 °C | 17.8 °C | +0.4 °C | 53 mm | 43 mm | −10 mm |
| April | 13.1 °C | 13.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 58 mm | 33 mm | −25 mm |
| May | 9.0 °C | 9.5 °C | +0.5 °C | 49 mm | 32 mm | −17 mm |
| June | 6.0 °C | 7.0 °C | +1.0 °C | 30 mm | 54 mm | +24 mm |
| July | 4.9 °C | 6.0 °C | +1.1 °C | 44 mm | 41 mm | −3 mm |
| August | 6.5 °C | 7.2 °C | +0.7 °C | 55 mm | 44 mm | −11 mm |
| September | 8.8 °C | 10.0 °C | +1.2 °C | 59 mm | 51 mm | −8 mm |
| October | 12.2 °C | 13.3 °C | +1.1 °C | 69 mm | 49 mm | −20 mm |
| November | 15.3 °C | 16.6 °C | +1.3 °C | 63 mm | 62 mm | −1 mm |
| December | 18.4 °C | 19.4 °C | +1.0 °C | 62 mm | 68 mm | +6 mm |
The largest temperature change is in January (+1.5 °C) and the smallest in March (+0.4 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.9 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in June (+24 mm) and the smallest in April (−25 mm).
Records at Canberra
- Warmest year: 14.9 °C, in 2019
- Coldest year: 10.9 °C, in 1918
- Driest year: 308 mm, in 1944
- Wettest year: 1102 mm, in 1950
- Warmest month: 26.1 °C, in January 2019
- Coldest month: 2.5 °C, in July 1929
- Wettest month: 322 mm, in March 1950
- Hottest day: 44.0 °C, on 4 January 2020
- Coldest day: −12.2 °C, on 19 July 1924
- Heaviest rain in one day: 131.8 mm, on 21 October 1959
4.0 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 56.2 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.31 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +2.0 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.12 °C per decade: the station ranks 17 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (January 2024 to December 2025), 18 months out of 24 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.7 °C. The highest departure was in November 2024 (+3.1 °C); the lowest, in June 2025 (−2.2 °C).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | 21.0 °C | −0.6 °C | 102 mm | 62 mm |
| February 2024 | 21.1 °C | +0.4 °C | 66 mm | 59 mm |
| March 2024 | 19.1 °C | +1.3 °C | – | 43 mm |
| April 2024 | 13.3 °C | −0.3 °C | 80 mm | 33 mm |
| May 2024 | 9.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 38 mm | 32 mm |
| June 2024 | 6.5 °C | −0.5 °C | 30 mm | 54 mm |
| July 2024 | 6.4 °C | +0.4 °C | 22 mm | 41 mm |
| August 2024 | 9.6 °C | +2.4 °C | – | 44 mm |
| September 2024 | 11.1 °C | +1.1 °C | 22 mm | 51 mm |
| October 2024 | 14.1 °C | +0.8 °C | 21 mm | 49 mm |
| November 2024 | 19.7 °C | +3.1 °C | – | 62 mm |
| December 2024 | 21.1 °C | +1.7 °C | 65 mm | 68 mm |
| January 2025 | 21.4 °C | −0.2 °C | 71 mm | 62 mm |
| February 2025 | 21.2 °C | +0.5 °C | 47 mm | 59 mm |
| March 2025 | 20.0 °C | +2.2 °C | 57 mm | 43 mm |
| April 2025 | 15.3 °C | +1.7 °C | 34 mm | 33 mm |
| May 2025 | 11.0 °C | +1.5 °C | 37 mm | 32 mm |
| June 2025 | 4.8 °C | −2.2 °C | 32 mm | 54 mm |
| July 2025 | 6.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 57 mm | 41 mm |
| August 2025 | 8.3 °C | +1.1 °C | – | 44 mm |
| September 2025 | 10.9 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 51 mm |
| October 2025 | 14.2 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 49 mm |
| November 2025 | 16.4 °C | −0.2 °C | – | 62 mm |
| December 2025 | 19.5 °C | +0.1 °C | – | 68 mm |
Data source and licence
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology (ACORN-SAT) and NOAA NCEI (GHCN-Daily) (dataset “ACORN-SAT v2 daily (homogenised) + GHCN-Daily”), licence CC BY 4.0; Public domain (NOAA NCEI). Last updated: 29 October 2026.
The data for Canberra are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 227 stations in Australia: the overview page lets you compare them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual mean temperature at Canberra?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Canberra is 13.6 °C. It was 12.6 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.9 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Canberra?
Since records began in 1914, the warmest year at Canberra is 2019, at 14.9 °C on average. The coldest is 1918 (10.9 °C).
Is the climate at Canberra getting warmer?
Yes: at Canberra, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.31 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +2.0 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
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