The coldest place in Australia is Liawenee, Tasmania, a small town in the Central Highlands known for its extremely low temperatures, holding records for the nation's lowest recorded temperatures, often dropping well below zero Celsius, especially during clear, calm winter nights due to its high elevation and distance from the coast. While Liawenee is the coldest permanently inhabited location, other elevated areas in the Snowy Mountains (NSW) and Victorian Alps also experience extreme cold.
Hobart ranks as Australia's chilliest city with a dry bulb temperature of 8.94°C,” the report reads.
The Snowy Mountains region in the south-east falls in the alpine climate or subpolar oceanic climate zone, with cool to cold weather all year around and regular heavy snowfalls in the winter and spring.
Average winter temperatures in Australia range between 3°C and 15°C. In Canberra, average nighttime temperatures hover around 3°C, and daytime highs reach around 16°C. Tasmania is milder with daytime and nighttime temperatures averaging 15°C and 6°C, respectively.
While several places get extremely hot, Onslow in Western Australia shares the record for Australia's highest temperature ever recorded (50.7°C in 2022), and Marble Bar, also in WA, is famous as "Australia's Hottest Town" for its record-breaking 160 consecutive days over 37.7°C (100°F) in 1923-24. The Pilbara region, where these towns are located, consistently experiences Australia's most extreme heat.
Hobart, Tasmania, is widely recognized as the cheapest major city, but smaller regional towns in Queensland and South Australia can offer even lower living costs.
Perth has been named as the sunniest capital city in Australia with clear skies 70% of the year. The average yearly temperature is 21ºC and there are an average 24 rainy days annually. Let's take a look at what the weather is like across each season.
As our gateway to Antarctica, it makes sense that Hobart experiences the coolest summers across the nation, with an overall score of 10.65 out of 100. It recorded the lowest average summer dry bulb temperatures of 16.5 degrees Celsius, along with the lowest humidity levels.
In Tasmania, mountainous areas receive heavy snow 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level every year, and due to its far southern latitude, this level frequently drops to 450 metres (1,480 ft) and at times even 200 metres (660 ft) in the south and west of the state.
Living in Tasmania is a mixed bag: housing can be cheaper than mainland capitals, but groceries, goods, and potentially transport (due to reliance on cars/freight) cost more, while lower average incomes mean overall affordability remains a challenge for many, making it neither universally expensive nor cheap. While Hobart offers lower rents than Sydney, you'll pay more for groceries and have fewer options without a car, creating trade-offs.
Adelaide has been ranked Australia's happiest city in the global Happy City Index, scoring highly across 82 measures of liveability and wellbeing. Our beloved South Australian capital seems to find itself on lists like these rather frequently, and we don't think it's by coincidence.
In the Northern Hemisphere, there are significant landmasses (such as Canada and Russia) that rapidly lose their heat in winter which provides a significant source of cold air. This is why locations of equal latitude in America and Eurasia are frequently colder in winter compared to their Australian equivalents.
Sydney's Burwood and North Melbourne among world's coolest neighbourhoods, Time Out says. One of Sydney's most culturally diverse suburbs has made it on to Time Out's annual 39 coolest neighbourhoods list.
Fairbanks, Alaska
With a minimum average temperature of about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit, Fairbanks takes the cake as the coldest city in the U.S. The northernmost major city in Alaska, Fairbanks has seen record cold temperatures reaching minus 66 degrees in the past.
It's always cooler up on the mountains than it is down in the lower-lying areas," Ms Bradbury said. "So Cooma, because it's got that little bit of elevation at 800 metres, it does generally see a cooler climate than some of those lower-lying areas."
The snowiest major city in Australia is often considered Orange, New South Wales, due to its frequent winter snowfalls from its high altitude, though it's more a regional centre than a large metropolis. For reliable, heavy, consistent snow, the Snowy Mountains (NSW) and Victorian Alps host ski resorts like Perisher, Thredbo, and Mt. Hotham, receiving significant accumulation. Capital cities like Canberra, Melbourne, and Hobart also see snow, but less frequently.
Yes, Tasmania has billionaires, notably mining magnate Dale Elphinstone, considered the state's first, and more recently, Cameron Adams, a Canva co-founder living in Launceston, who is estimated to be worth billions from the graphic design platform. While Elphinstone built his wealth from heavy machinery (Elphinstone Group), Adams' fortune stems from the high-valuation tech company, with both representing significant wealth in the state.
Instead Tasmania's weather tends to be middle of the road but mostly about 5 degrees cooler than Melbourne or 8 degrees cooler than Perth, Sydney or Adelaide.
Perth arguably has the best Australia Day weather, experiencing just 8 Australia Day's of rain since 1900 with an average of 2.9mm of rain falling on these days. It also has the highest average maximum temperature at 30.4°C with 61 of the past 116 Australia Days above 30°C.
Burkina Faso (84.7° F) The title of world's hottest country goes to Burkina Faso, a landlocked country characterized by a varied climate that transitions from a Sahelian semiarid region in the north to a more humid tropical savanna in the south.
California is known for having some of the best weather, with large cities like San Diego and Santa Barbara having little rainfall along with warm weather between 60 and 85 degrees.
Not only did Canberra top the global list, but it also ranked as the highest Australian city across four of the six core quality-of-life indicators: income per person, income equality, housing expenditure and life expectancy. Discover more about what makes Canberra stand out.
Perth is the windiest city in Mainland Australia.
1. San Diego, California. San Diego is the poster child for pleasant weather year-round. This Southern California city enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate with average high temperatures of 65 to 77 F (18 to 25 C) throughout the year.