Due to the huge size of the country, Australia has serveral different climate zones. The northern section of Australia has a more tropical influenced climate, hot and humid in the summer, and quite warm and dry in the winter, while the southern parts are cooler with mild summers and cool, sometimes rainy winters.
The seasons are the opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere-when it's summer in the north, it's winter south of the equator. December and January are the hottest months in Australia, July and August the coldest.
The southern areas of the australian Continent are generally more temperate to warm, with summer daytime temperatures usually between 25 and 30°C and winter Temperatures between 5 and 10°C The Tasmanian mountains and the "Australian Alps" in the southeast of Australia have a typical mountain climate; the winter can be very harsch there, and the highest peaks are usually covered by snow year-round.
Another extreme, but completely different are the conditions in the desert and bush ("outback") areas in central Australia; the temperature reaches sometimes 50°C and more, and rain may not fall for years. Most rain falls in the northeastern coastal parts of australia (Darvin), with an annual average of 100 inches and more. Sometimes tropical cyclones can occur in the northern coastal areas, causing heavy wind and rainstorms; these storms usually occur in the Southern summer months between November and April. Extratropical storms can occur in the southern coastal areas during this time.
Required clothing:
Northern australia: Lightweight (cotton) clothing in the summer months, with a raincoat for local showers/cloudbursts, warmer (waterproof) clothing with a sweater for the winter months. Southern Australia: lightweight waterproof clothing with a sweater for cool evenings;M mediumweight clothing is advised for the winter months. Warmer clothing is needed in the Tasmanian mountains; be prepared for extreme Temperatures when you travel in the inland areas ("outback") of Australia.
Koeppen-Geiger classification:
Australias climate can be divided in six different climate zones. The northern coastal parts have a Aw> climate, a hot tropical climate with all months above 18°C and a dry period in the winter. The areas more inland and around the west coast have a dryer subtropical BSh climate with an annual average Temperature above 18°. The regions in central Australia are the driest with a Desert BWh climate with an annual average Temperature above 18°C. The southern parts of Australia have a cooler influenced climate. The southeastern coastal areas have a Cf climate, the area around melbourne has a Cfb Climate with the warmest month under 22°C, the coldest month between 18 and -3°C and four or more months above 10°C, the area around Brisbane is warmer, Cfa, with the warmest month over 22°C. The southwest coast of australia can be classiefied as Csb Climate, with a dry period in the summer, the warmest month under 22°C, four or more months over 10°C and the coldest month between 18°C and -3°C.
