How Cold Does It Get in Australia?

Australia is famous for its perfect warm and sunny weather. While average temperatures in Australia are very high, winter temperatures can sometimes dip to surprisingly low numbers. How cold does it get in Australia? You’re about to discover the answer in my very detailed guide.

It’s hard to imagine that even sun-soaked areas in Western Australia can sometimes get chilly weather. Or can you imagine that certain areas of New South Wales or Victoria may deal with such cold weather that ski resorts can successfully operate for up to 4-5 months. Yet, that’s indeed a thing.

In this article I’ll give you a list of 10 cities in Australia that register the coldest temperatures in the winter season. I’ll also share with you a table with 97 major Australian cities and towns with at least 10,000 residents and average temperatures recorded in the coldest month, July. Lastly, I’ll also share with you record low temperatures for each city. This will give you the best overview of how cold Australia gets in the winter months.

But before, I’ll share by far the coldest places in Australia that aren’t cities or towns.

All data in this article comes from the Bureau of Meteorology.

By Far the Coldest Place in Australia You May Have Never Heard Of

Australia claims a part of East Antarctica as its external territory. Since politically this region is deemed a part of Australia, this is where we can find the coldest places in Australia.

Australia maintains three year-round stations in Antarctica: Mawson, Davis, and Casey. Out of these, Davis is by far the coldest station.

In the coldest month, July, average high temperatures (that is temperatures during the day) reach -14.3 °C. Yes, you read that right. At night, temperatures further drop to -20.6 °C. But the lowest temperature recorded at Davis station is even more impressive: -41.8 °C, recorded on 27 April 1998.

This makes Davis by far the coldest place in Australia. But it’s not the coldest place in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s not even that cold compared to Vostok Station which records on average -64 °C in the coldest month.

The 7 Coldest Places in Australia

Apart from Antarctica, the coldest areas of Australia aren’t found in the country’s most populated regions. The vast majority of the population lives close to the ocean which has a moderating effect on the temperatures. The result is mild winters and extremely rare snowfall, even in the coldest cities.

If you want to experience the coldest temperatures in Australia, you need to head to the country’s ski resorts deep inland, in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and mountainous areas of Victoria. The most well-known ones that may have winter weather, ranked by the coldest temperature during the day in the coldest month, are:

1. Mount Hotham, Victoria

Average high temperature in July: -0.1 °C

Average low temperature in July: -3.7 °C

Record low temperature: -10.4 °C

The weather station is located at 1,849 m above mean sea level while the summit rises to 1,862 meters. Even during the day, temperatures on average are slightly below zero.

2. Falls Creek, Victoria

Average high temperature in July: 1.1 °C

Average low temperature in July: -2.9 °C

Record low temperature: -9.6 °C

Falls Creek weather station is located at 1,765 meters above mean sea level. Its average daytime temperatures are above zero.

3. Mount Buller, Victoria

Average high temperature in July: 1.4 °C

Average low temperature in July: -2.6 °C

Record low temperature: -10.2 °C

Mount Buller’s weather station is located at 1,707 meters above mean sea level. Its record low temperature was slightly lower than in Falls Creek but averages are higher.

4. Charlotte Pass, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 1.9 °C

Average low temperature in July: -6.6 °C

Record low temperature: -23 °C

Climate data comes from Kosciuszko Chalet situated at 1,755 meters above mean sea level. Charlotte Pass is the coldest location in Australia when we look at its record low temperature.

5. Mount Baw Baw, Victoria

Average high temperature in July: 2.2 °C

Average low temperature in July: -6.6 °C

Record low temperature: -8.5 °C

Mount Baw Baw’s weather station is at 1,561 meters above mean sea level. While it has warmer days, it has much colder nights than the previous locations in Victoria.

6. Perisher, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 2.4 °C

Average low temperature in July: -5 °C

Record low temperature: -19.5 °C

Records are taken at Perisher Valley, located at 1,735 meters above mean sea level. The record low temperature of Perisher is one of the lowest in Australia.

7. Thredbo, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 5.6 °C

Average low temperature in July: -3 °C

Record low temperature: -12.8 °C

Thredbo, with its weather station at 1,380 meters above mean sea level, has by far the highest daytime temperatures out of all the ski resorts. Still, at night temperatures drop well below zero.

The 10 Coldest Cities in Australia in the Winter

Australia’s winter isn’t cold compared to many places around the world. Nonetheless, the coldest cities in Australia record winter temperatures firmly in the “cold” territory, requiring cold weather clothes and other winter precautions, particularly during the early morning and at night.

The cities are ranked by the temperature during the day (average high temperature), starting with the coldest cities.

1. Macedon, Victoria

Average high temperature in July: 7.8 °C

Average low temperature in July: 2.5 °C

Record low temperature: -6 °C

Macedon is a small town in central Victoria, at the foot of Mount Macedon in the Macedon Ranges. It’s situated at an elevation of 505 meters above mean sea level. It has the lowest daytime temperatures out of all major cities and towns in Australia.

2. Orange, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 9.6 °C

Average low temperature in July: 1.6 °C

Record low temperature: -5.8 °C

Orange is the coldest city in NSW. It’s located in the Central Tablelands at an elevation of 863 meters above mean sea level. While daytime temperatures are higher than in Macedon, nights can get colder.

3. Ballarat, Victoria

Average high temperature in July: 9.9 °C

Average low temperature in July: 3.2 °C

Record low temperature: -6 °C

Ballarat is the third largest city in Victoria and the third coldest in Australia. The city has a reputation for unpredictable, extreme weather. Its elevation ranges from 435 to 630 meters above mean sea level.

4. Lithgow, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 10.4 °C

Average low temperature in July: 0.7 °C

Record low temperature: -8 °C

Lithgow is another city in the Central Tablelands of NSW, situated at an elevation of 950 meters above mean sea level. Its average minimum temperatures are lower than in Orange.

5. Bowral, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 11.5 °C

Average low temperature in July: 2.1 °C

Record low temperature: -11.2 °C

Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of NSW, located just 1.5 hours from Sydney. Its elevation is 690 meters above mean sea level.

6. Queanbeyan, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 11.8 °C

Average low temperature in July: -0.2 °C

Record low temperature: -10 °C

Queanbeyan is located within a 20-minute drive from Canberra, at an elevation of 576 meters above mean sea level. It records colder nights than the previous five cities.

7. Goulburn, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 11.8 °C

Average low temperature in July: -0.3 °C

Record low temperature: -10.9 °C

Goulburn is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of NSW. Located at an elevation of 642 meters above mean sea level, it experiences some of the coldest winter nights.

8. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Average high temperature in July: 12.1 °C

Average low temperature in July: 0.3 °C

Record low temperature: -10 °C

The capital city of Australia is the eighth coldest city in the country. It’s by far the most populous cold city in Australia. Nighttime temperatures are around zero and these are some of the coldest in this ranking. If I were to rank the cities by average low temperatures in July, Canberra would rank #4.

9. Armidale, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 12.2 °C

Average low temperature in July: -0.3 °C

Record low temperature: -11.2 °C

Armidale is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. Located roughly halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, its high elevation of 980 meters above mean sea level gives it a cool climate.

10. Bathurst, New South Wales

Average high temperature in July: 12.3 °C

Average low temperature in July: 0.6 °C

Record low temperature: -8.9 °C

Bathurst, located in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales at 650 meters above mean sea level, is the tenth coldest city in Australia. Its daytime temperatures are about 5 degrees Celsius warmer than in the coldest Australian city.

97 Australian Cities Ranked by How Cold They Get in Winter

Here’s a table with 97 major Australian cities and towns that have at least 10,000 residents, ranked by average high temperatures in July which is typically the coldest month. You may also want to check out my ranking of the warmest cities in Australia.

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