Sydney is a weather station located 43 m above sea level, 1 km from The Rocks. Its records go back to 1859: 116 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 19.0 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (18.7 °C): a difference of 0.3 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2016 (19.8 °C) and the coldest 1927 (17.6 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 2 out of 116, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.12 °C per decade. The station ranks 193 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1859
The first ten years of the series (1910–1919) average 18.7 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 19.3 °C, a difference of +0.6 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 7 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2016 (19.8 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 19.3 °C (2019) and bottoms out at 18.0 °C (1936).
Annual rainfall since 1859
On average 1211 mm of rain falls per year over the 161 documented years. The wettest year, 1950, received 2194 mm; the driest, 1888, only 583 mm, which is 3.8 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (1148 mm per year) is 155 mm (11.9 %) below the 1961–1990 one (1303 mm). Over 1991–2020, June is on average the wettest month (143 mm) and September the driest (63 mm). Between 2000 and 2019, 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 | 23.2 °C | 23.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 130 mm | 91 mm | −39 mm |
| February | 23.3 °C | 23.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 126 mm | 131 mm | +5 mm |
| March | 22.0 °C | 22.3 °C | +0.3 °C | 164 mm | 118 mm | −46 mm |
| April | 19.7 °C | 19.7 °C | 0.0 °C | 133 mm | 114 mm | −19 mm |
| May | 16.7 °C | 16.8 °C | +0.1 °C | 101 mm | 101 mm | 0 mm |
| June | 14.0 °C | 14.3 °C | +0.3 °C | 140 mm | 143 mm | +3 mm |
| July | 13.2 °C | 13.6 °C | +0.4 °C | 56 mm | 80 mm | +24 mm |
| August | 14.3 °C | 14.6 °C | +0.3 °C | 99 mm | 75 mm | −24 mm |
| September | 16.5 °C | 17.2 °C | +0.7 °C | 65 mm | 63 mm | −2 mm |
| October | 18.8 °C | 19.2 °C | +0.4 °C | 88 mm | 68 mm | −20 mm |
| November | 20.5 °C | 20.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 116 mm | 91 mm | −25 mm |
| December | 22.4 °C | 22.4 °C | 0.0 °C | 85 mm | 73 mm | −12 mm |
The largest temperature change is in January (+0.7 °C) and the smallest in April (0.0 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.3 °C, and 10 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in July (+24 mm) and the smallest in March (−46 mm).
Records at Sydney
- Warmest year: 19.8 °C, in 2016
- Coldest year: 17.6 °C, in 1927
- Driest year: 583 mm, in 1888
- Wettest year: 2194 mm, in 1950
- Warmest month: 25.8 °C, in January 2017
- Coldest month: 11.8 °C, in July 1948
- Wettest month: 643 mm, in June 1950
- Hottest day: 47.1 °C, on 14 January 1939
- Coldest day: 2.7 °C, on 26 July 1968
- Heaviest rain in one day: 327.6 mm, on 6 August 1986
2.2 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 44.4 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.12 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +0.8 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.07 °C per decade: the station ranks 193 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (January 2024 to December 2025), 16 months out of 24 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.5 °C. The highest departure was in October 2025 (+2.1 °C); the lowest, in June 2024 (−0.8 °C).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | 24.5 °C | +0.6 °C | – | 91 mm |
| February 2024 | 24.2 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 131 mm |
| March 2024 | 23.0 °C | +0.7 °C | – | 118 mm |
| April 2024 | 19.6 °C | −0.1 °C | – | 114 mm |
| May 2024 | 16.5 °C | −0.3 °C | – | 101 mm |
| June 2024 | 13.5 °C | −0.8 °C | – | 143 mm |
| July 2024 | 13.7 °C | +0.1 °C | – | 80 mm |
| August 2024 | 16.6 °C | +2.0 °C | – | 75 mm |
| September 2024 | 18.1 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 63 mm |
| October 2024 | 18.8 °C | −0.4 °C | – | 68 mm |
| November 2024 | 22.1 °C | +1.4 °C | – | 91 mm |
| December 2024 | 24.0 °C | +1.6 °C | – | 73 mm |
| January 2025 | 23.3 °C | −0.6 °C | – | 91 mm |
| February 2025 | 23.7 °C | 0.0 °C | – | 131 mm |
| March 2025 | 23.5 °C | +1.2 °C | – | 118 mm |
| April 2025 | 20.8 °C | +1.1 °C | – | 114 mm |
| May 2025 | 17.3 °C | +0.5 °C | – | 101 mm |
| June 2025 | 13.5 °C | −0.8 °C | – | 143 mm |
| July 2025 | 13.8 °C | +0.2 °C | – | 80 mm |
| August 2025 | 14.4 °C | −0.2 °C | – | 75 mm |
| September 2025 | 18.3 °C | +1.1 °C | – | 63 mm |
| October 2025 | 21.3 °C | +2.1 °C | – | 68 mm |
| November 2025 | 21.7 °C | +1.0 °C | – | 91 mm |
| December 2025 | 23.2 °C | +0.8 °C | – | 73 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 Sydney 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 Sydney?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Sydney is 19.0 °C. It was 18.7 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.3 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Sydney?
Since records began in 1859, the warmest year at Sydney is 2016, at 19.8 °C on average. The coldest is 1927 (17.6 °C).
Is the climate at Sydney getting warmer?
Yes: at Sydney, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.12 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +0.8 °C in total. 7 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations