At a glance
When is the best time to visit Sydney and Melbourne?
Spring (September to November) and autumn (March to May) are the mildest seasons in both cities. Summer, December to February, is warm and busy, and Melbourne's hottest days are hotter than Sydney's. Winter, June to August, is cool rather than cold.
Australia's seasons run opposite to the UAE's. The Bureau of Meteorology defines summer as December, January and February, winter as June, July and August, and spring and autumn as the three-month transitions between them[2]. So the UAE's winter school break falls in the Australian summer, and its summer holidays in the Australian winter.
Sydney is the milder of the two cities. Its Observatory Hill station averages a January high of 27.4 °C and a July high of 18.4 °C; Melbourne's Olympic Park averages 26.0 °C and 14.4 °C[1]. Melbourne is also the drier city, with 589 mm of rain a year against Sydney's 1,148 mm, but it has the hotter extremes: its highest temperature in the 1991–2020 record is 45.9 °C, against Sydney's 44.8 °C[1].
How warm and wet are Sydney and Melbourne each month?
Sydney's average high runs from 18.4 °C in June and July to 27.7 °C in February, and Melbourne's from 14.4 °C in July to 26.0 °C in January. Sydney's rain peaks in February, March and June; Melbourne's is spread evenly, at 37–61 mm a month.
Sydney and Melbourne by month, 1991–2020, and short-term visitor arrivals to Australia in 2025
| Month | Sydney high / low (°C) | Sydney rain | Melbourne high / low (°C) | Melbourne rain | Visitor arrivals, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.4 / 20.0 | 91 mm | 26.0 / 15.7 | 47 mm | 710,040 |
| February | 27.7 / 19.9 | 132 mm | 25.7 / 16.1 | 46 mm | 787,770 |
| March | 26.4 / 18.4 | 118 mm | 23.7 / 14.4 | 37 mm | 761,230 |
| April | 24.0 / 15.4 | 114 mm | 20.7 / 11.4 | 55 mm | 641,150 |
| May | 21.5 / 12.4 | 101 mm | 17.4 / 9.8 | 45 mm | 611,180 |
| June | 18.4 / 10.0 | 143 mm | 14.8 / 7.9 | 45 mm | 624,510 |
| July | 18.4 / 8.9 | 80 mm | 14.4 / 7.4 | 40 mm | 743,210 |
| August | 19.7 / 9.7 | 75 mm | 15.4 / 7.8 | 48 mm | 753,320 |
| September | 21.9 / 12.3 | 63 mm | 17.5 / 9.4 | 52 mm | 696,500 |
| October | 23.6 / 14.6 | 68 mm | 19.8 / 10.7 | 52 mm | 740,650 |
| November | 24.9 / 16.6 | 91 mm | 22.0 / 12.6 | 61 mm | 831,170 |
| December | 26.6 / 18.4 | 73 mm | 23.8 / 14.1 | 61 mm | 1,036,660 |
Climate: WMO climatological normals 1991–2020 for Sydney (Observatory Hill) and Melbourne (Olympic Park), submitted by Australia[1]; mean daily maximum / minimum and mean monthly precipitation, rounded. The Bureau of Meteorology's own station pages cover other periods and differ slightly. Arrivals: short-term visitors arriving in Australia, original series, Australian Bureau of Statistics[4].
Averages hide Australian heat. The Bureau of Meteorology issues heatwave forecasts and warnings generally from October to the end of March, and says the service can start earlier or run later[3]. Rain falls on 8–10 days a month in Sydney from December to June, and in Melbourne from May to October[1].
What is on in Sydney and Melbourne in 2026–27?
The Melbourne Cup is on Tuesday 3 November 2026. Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks, produced by the City of Sydney, mark 31 December. The Australian Open runs in Melbourne from 11 to 31 January 2027, and Vivid Sydney from 28 May to 19 June 2027.
- Melbourne Cup: Tuesday 3 November 2026[5].
- Sydney New Year's Eve: the City of Sydney produces the event; its schedule lists fireworks at 21:00 and a midnight display launched from the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and other landmarks[6].
- Australian Open: 11 to 31 January 2027, with Opening Week from 11 to 16 January and the singles finals on 30 and 31 January[7].
- Vivid Sydney: Friday 28 May to Saturday 19 June 2027[8].
When is Australia busiest?
In December. Australia recorded 1,036,660 short-term visitor arrivals in December 2025, far more than in any other month; May was the quietest, with 611,180. Visitors from the UAE came most in July and December, the months of the UAE's long school holidays.
Short-term visitors from the UAE made 42,660 arrivals in 2025 by our sum of the monthly figures: 6,610 in July and 6,340 in December, against about 2,000–2,300 a month in January, April, May and September[4]. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' July 2026 release put short-term visitor arrivals in July 2026 at 710,980, down 4.3% on a year earlier[4].
How do the UAE school holidays line up with Australia?
Winter break, 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, falls in the Australian summer and the busiest weeks of the year. The October mid-term and spring break fall in the mild spring and autumn; the UAE summer holidays fall in the Australian winter.
UAE school breaks in 2026–27, and Sydney and Melbourne at the same time
| UAE break | Dates | In Sydney and Melbourne |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-term | 12–18 October 2026 | Spring: Sydney 23.6 °C, Melbourne 19.8 °C; clocks already forward |
| Winter | 14 December 2026 – 3 January 2027 | Summer, busiest month; New Year's Eve fireworks in Sydney |
| Spring | 5–11 April 2027 | Autumn: Sydney 24.0 °C, Melbourne 20.7 °C; clocks go back on 4 April |
| Summer | From 3 July 2027 (school ends on 2 July) | Winter: Sydney 18.4 °C, Melbourne 14.4 °C in July |
UAE dates from the Ministry of Education's calendar for schools that follow it[12]; check your own school's dates. Australia: WMO normals[1], arrivals[4], clocks[9].
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT observe daylight saving: in 2026–27 clocks go forward at 02:00 on Sunday 4 October 2026 and back at 03:00 on Sunday 4 April 2027, according to the NSW Government[9]. Victoria's standard time is ten hours ahead of UTC, as its Summer Time Act sets out[10], and daylight saving adds an hour. With the UAE four hours ahead of GMT[11], Sydney and Melbourne are six hours ahead of the UAE in the southern winter and seven hours ahead in summer.
Entry requirements for Australia depend on your passport, and we do not restate them. The Department of Home Affairs' Visa Finder is the official source, and our visa desk can check your case.
Questions travellers ask
What is the best month to visit Sydney?
March, April, October or November: average highs of 23.6–26.4 °C at Observatory Hill[1], outside the December peak for arrivals[4].
When is summer in Australia?
December, January and February, by the Bureau of Meteorology's definition; winter is June, July and August[2].
Is Melbourne cold in winter?
Cool: July averages a high of 14.4 °C and a low of 7.4 °C at Olympic Park[1]. Pack a warm coat for a UAE summer-holiday trip.
When is the Australian Open in 2027?
From 11 to 31 January 2027 in Melbourne, with the singles finals on 30 and 31 January[7].
Do I need a visa for Australia?
It depends on your passport, and we do not restate visa rules. Use the Department of Home Affairs' Visa Finder, or ask our visa desk.
Sources
The desk opened each source on the date shown. Rules, fees and timetables change: check the official source before you travel.
- [1]WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991–2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), station files SydneyObservatoryHill_94768.csv, MelbourneOlympicPark_95936.csv — WMO Member Nations (Australia), via NOAA NCEI. Accessed 29 September 2026
- [2]Solstices, equinoxes and the seasons — Bureau of Meteorology. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [3]Heatwave services — Bureau of Meteorology. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [4]Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, July 2026 (tables 1 and 5) — Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [5]Lexus Melbourne Cup Day, 3 November 2026 — Victoria Racing Club. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [6]Schedule | Sydney New Year's Eve — City of Sydney. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [7]Australian Open 2027 dates announced (23 March 2026) — Tennis Australia. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [8]Vivid Sydney 2027 calls for the world's best creative visionaries (17 June 2026) — Destination NSW. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [9]Daylight saving in NSW: When it starts and ends in 2026 and 2027 — NSW Government. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [10]Summer Time Act 1972 (Authorised Version No. 014) — Victorian Legislation (State of Victoria). Accessed 26 September 2026
- [11]Fact sheet — The UAE Government portal (u.ae). Accessed 26 September 2026
- [12]MOE announces the academic calendar for the next three years — UAE Ministry of Education. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [13]Explore visa options (Visa Finder) — Department of Home Affairs, Australia. Accessed 26 September 2026
Published 26 September 2026 · Updated 29 September 2026
Seen something wrong or out of date? Write to trade@nwp.ae and the desk will check it against the source.
