Global InformationClimate of Sydney information
The climate of Sydney, Australia is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa),[1] shifting from mild[2][3][4] and cool[5] in winter to warm and occasionally hot[5] in the summer, with no extreme seasonal differences as the weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean,[3] although more contrasting temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs. Despite the fact that there is no distinct dry or wet season, rainfall peaks during summer and autumn months,[2] and is at its lowest just around the middle of the year, though precipitation can be erratic throughout the year.[6][7] Precipitation varies across the region, with areas adjacent to the coast being the wettest.[8] According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Sydney falls in the temperate climate zone which has warm to hot summers[a] and no dry season.[9][10] Sydney's plant hardiness zone ranges from zone 11a to 9b throughout the metropolitan area.[11] Under the Holdridge Life Zones classification, eastern Sydney falls in the Subtropical Moist Forest zone and the western suburbs in the Subtropical Dry Forest zone.[12]
Sydney has 109.5 clear days and 127.2 cloudy days annually,[13] though it has around 200 days of visible sunshine if partly cloudy days or sunny breaks are counted.[14] Overall, Sydney has just about 66% of possible sun for Jun-Aug and around 54% for Dec-Feb, making winter sunnier than summer on average, in addition to the city being sunny around 65% of the time in the year with its 2,640 hours of annual sunshine.[15] Sydney's heat is predominantly dry in spring, but usually humid in the summertime.[16] On some hot summer days, low pressure troughs increase humidity and southerly busters decrease temperatures by late afternoon or early evening.[17][18] In the warm season, particularly late summer and early autumn, troughs combined with a humid air mass can bring large amounts of rainfall,[19] and in late autumn to early winter, the city can be affected by east coast lows.[20] When the subtropical ridge is north of Sydney in late winter to early spring, the wind comes from the west or inland. As the ridge moves south in summer and autumn, the winds become easterly.[21][22][23]
Sydney experiences an urban heat island effect,[24] making certain parts of the city more vulnerable to extreme heat, particularly the west.[24] Efforts have been introduced to investigate and mitigate this heat effect, including increasing shade from tree canopies, adding rooftop gardens to high rise structures and changing pavement colour.[25][26] The El Niño Southern Oscillation, the Indian Ocean Dipole and the Southern Annular Mode[27][28] play an important role in determining Sydney's weather patterns: drought and bushfire on the one hand, and storms and flooding on the other. Sydney is prone to heat waves and drought, which have become more common in the 21st century.[29][30][31][32] Furthermore, the region of Sydney, and as well as the rest of the New South Wales coastline, is warmed by the East Australian Current.[33][34] In 2020, researchers at The Australia Institute discovered that Sydney was experiencing longer summers and shorter winters in recent decades, compared to those in the 1950s and 1960s.[35] In 2023, Sydney was placed at 9th place by Stars Insider for having the best weather in the world.[36]
- ^ "Modelling and simulation of seasonal rainfall" (PDF). Centre for Computer Assisted Research Mathematics and its Applications (CARMA). 20 May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
Brisbane and Sydney each have a humid sub-tropical or temperate climate with no pronounced dry season...the classification is Cfa
- ^ a b "Sydney: Climate and water". Bureau of Meteorology. April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
The Sydney region has a temperate climate with warm summers (December–February) and mild winters (June–August).
- ^ a b "Sydney holiday weather". Met Office. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
Sydney's winter weather is generally mild.
- ^ "WEATHER IN SYDNEY". Australia.com. Tourism Australia. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
Sydney enjoys a sunny climate with mild winters...
- ^ a b "Climate and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games". Australian Government. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 24 September 2007. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Sydney future: high temps, erratic rain". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Commuters in Sydney and eastern NSW brace for erratic weather". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Sydney Basin - climate". New South Wales Government. Department of Environment and Climate Change. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Map 2. Sub divisions within the key climate groups". Australian Government. Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "Australian climatic zones". Australian Government. Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Australia Plant Hardiness Zone Map". PlantMaps. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Jia, M.; Liu, Dianwei; Song, K.; Wang, Zongming; Ren, C. (2012). "Mapping biomes of Australia based on the Holdridge Life Zone Model". 2012 International Conference on Computer Vision in Remote Sensing. pp. 362–365. doi:10.1109/CVRS.2012.6421291. ISBN 978-1-4673-1274-5. S2CID 18208667.
- ^ "Sydney (Observatory Hill) Period 1991-2020". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "SUNNIEST PLACES IN AUSTRALIA". Sunlit Vibes. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Australian locations Sydney Airport AMO". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "Australian Climate Averages - Relative Humidity (February)". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Sea Breezes on the NSW Coast". BOM. Ken Batt. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ^ Batt, K, 1995: Sea breezes on the NSW coast, Offshore Yachting, Oct/Nov 1995, Jamieson Publishing.
- ^ "Sydney weather: storms and torrential rain lash NSW as humidity soars to 90%". The Guardian. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ "About East Coast Lows". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney weather: fog shrouds city before the sun finally emerges". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Sydney weather: Planes diverted, ferries cancelled as city blanketed in fog". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ Drosdowsky, Wasyl (16 March 2005). "The latitude of the subtropical ridge over Eastern Australia: TheL index revisited". International Journal of Climatology. 25 (10): 1291–1299. Bibcode:2005IJCli..25.1291D. doi:10.1002/joc.1196. S2CID 140198125. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Sydney area an 'urban heat island' vulnerable to extreme temperatures". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Urban heat island effect - City of Sydney". City of Sydney.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Cooling cities - urban heat island effect" (PDF). aila.org.au. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Southern Annular Mode: The climate 'influencer' you may not have heard of". ABC News. 14 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Special Climate Statement 71—severe fire weather conditions in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales in September 2019" (PDF). Bureau of Meteorology. 24 September 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "Sydney heatwave: Is it hot enough for you?". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ "Living in Sydney". Sydney Institute of Business & Technology. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Water quality and drought". Sydney Water. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009.
- ^ "Drought". Archived from the original on 15 January 2012.
- ^ Brown, Jaci (21 November 2014). "Things warm up as the East Australian Current heads south". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Hannam, Peter (15 May 2015). "Going with the flow: scientists probe changes in the East Australian Current". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Summers are now twice as long as winters in all Australian capital cities, report finds by Liv Casben from ABC News Australia. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Cities with the best weather in the world". MSN.com. September 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
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