Darwin is a weather station located 30 m above sea level, 7 km from Darwin. Its records go back to 1910: 110 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 27.8 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (27.4 °C): a difference of 0.4 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2016 (28.7 °C) and the coldest 1913 (26.2 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 9 out of 110, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.18 °C per decade. The station ranks 134 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1910
The first ten years of the series (1910–1919) average 26.7 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 28.3 °C, a difference of +1.6 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 8 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2016 (28.7 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 28.3 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 26.7 °C (1926).
Annual rainfall since 1910
On average 1733 mm of rain falls per year over the 85 documented years. The wettest year, 1998, received 2777 mm; the driest, 1946, only 1025 mm, which is 2.7 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (1833 mm per year) is 127 mm (7.4 %) above the 1961–1990 one (1706 mm). Over 1991–2020, January is on average the wettest month (471 mm) and July the driest (1 mm). Between 2006 and 2025, 15 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 | 28.0 °C | 28.5 °C | +0.5 °C | 437 mm | 471 mm | +34 mm |
| February | 27.6 °C | 28.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 342 mm | 412 mm | +70 mm |
| March | 27.9 °C | 28.5 °C | +0.6 °C | 342 mm | 314 mm | −28 mm |
| April | 28.1 °C | 28.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 85 mm | 105 mm | +20 mm |
| May | 26.8 °C | 27.3 °C | +0.5 °C | 29 mm | 21 mm | −8 mm |
| June | 25.0 °C | 25.6 °C | +0.6 °C | 2 mm | 2 mm | 0 mm |
| July | 24.6 °C | 25.2 °C | +0.6 °C | 1 mm | 1 mm | 0 mm |
| August | 25.6 °C | 25.9 °C | +0.3 °C | 8 mm | 1 mm | −7 mm |
| September | 27.5 °C | 28.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 19 mm | 14 mm | −5 mm |
| October | 29.2 °C | 29.3 °C | +0.1 °C | 76 mm | 69 mm | −7 mm |
| November | 29.5 °C | 29.6 °C | +0.1 °C | 131 mm | 144 mm | +13 mm |
| December | 29.1 °C | 29.3 °C | +0.2 °C | 234 mm | 279 mm | +45 mm |
The largest temperature change is in February (+0.7 °C) and the smallest in October (+0.1 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.4 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in February (+70 mm) and the smallest in March (−28 mm).
Records at Darwin
- Warmest year: 28.7 °C, in 2016
- Coldest year: 26.2 °C, in 1913
- Driest year: 1025 mm, in 1946
- Wettest year: 2777 mm, in 1998
- Warmest month: 30.8 °C, in December 2019
- Coldest month: 22.2 °C, in July 1965
- Wettest month: 1110 mm, in February 2011
- Hottest day: 39.5 °C, on 18 October 1982
- Coldest day: 10.5 °C, on 29 July 1942
- Heaviest rain in one day: 367.6 mm, on 16 February 2011
2.5 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 29.0 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.18 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.2 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.01 °C per decade: the station ranks 134 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 11 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.3 °C. The highest departure was in October 2024 (+0.9 °C); the lowest, in November 2025 (−0.2 °C). The last twelve months add up to 2410 mm of rain, which is 131 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (1833 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 30.2 °C | +0.9 °C | 40 mm | 69 mm |
| November 2024 | 29.5 °C | −0.1 °C | 209 mm | 144 mm |
| December 2024 | 29.6 °C | +0.3 °C | 223 mm | 279 mm |
| January 2025 | 29.2 °C | +0.7 °C | 414 mm | 471 mm |
| February 2025 | 28.8 °C | +0.5 °C | 404 mm | 412 mm |
| March 2025 | 29.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 364 mm | 314 mm |
| April 2025 | 28.5 °C | −0.1 °C | 268 mm | 105 mm |
| May 2025 | 27.4 °C | +0.1 °C | 44 mm | 21 mm |
| June 2025 | 25.6 °C | 0.0 °C | 0 mm | 2 mm |
| July 2025 | 25.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 0 mm | 1 mm |
| August 2025 | 26.0 °C | +0.1 °C | 0 mm | 1 mm |
| September 2025 | 28.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 10 mm | 14 mm |
| October 2025 | 30.1 °C | +0.8 °C | 46 mm | 69 mm |
| November 2025 | 29.4 °C | −0.2 °C | 446 mm | 144 mm |
| December 2025 | 29.4 °C | +0.1 °C | 310 mm | 279 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 514 mm | 471 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 387 mm | 412 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 515 mm | 314 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 179 mm | 105 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 2 mm | 21 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 3 mm | 2 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 1 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 1 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 8 mm | 14 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 Darwin 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 Darwin?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Darwin is 27.8 °C. It was 27.4 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.4 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Darwin?
Since records began in 1910, the warmest year at Darwin is 2016, at 28.7 °C on average. The coldest is 1913 (26.2 °C).
Is the climate at Darwin getting warmer?
Yes: at Darwin, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.18 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.2 °C in total. 8 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations