Climate and average weather in Broken Hill
In Broken Hill, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are mild and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Broken Hill typically varies from 6°C to 34°C, and is rarely below 2°C or above 41°C. January is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Broken Hill for warm-weather activities are from mid March to late May and mid August to mid November.
- Hottest
- Jan
- 34°
- Coldest
- Jul
- 6°
- Wettest
- Feb
- 27 mm
- Driest
- Apr
- 11 mm
- Rain / yr
- 211 mm
- 33 wet days
- Daylight
- 9.9–14.1 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 317 m
- 32.0°S
- Clearest
- Mar
- 28% cloud
Broken Hill is town in New South Wales, Australia.
- Density
- 103/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1883
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Broken Hill weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid August to mid November.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Broken Hill, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 3.9 months, from November 18 to March 15, with daily high temperatures above 29°C. The hottest month of the year in Broken Hill is January, with an average high of 34°C and low of 20°C.
The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from May 18 to August 25, with daily high temperatures below 19°C. The coldest month of the year in Broken Hill is July, with an average low of 6°C and high of 16°C.
Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in December.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 34 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 29 | 32 |
| Avg low (°C) | 20 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 20 |
| Feb | 33 | 19 |
| Mar | 29 | 16 |
| Apr | 24 | 12 |
| May | 19 | 9 |
| Jun | 16 | 6 |
| Jul | 16 | 6 |
| Aug | 18 | 7 |
| Sep | 22 | 9 |
| Oct | 26 | 12 |
| Nov | 29 | 15 |
| Dec | 32 | 18 |
How hot and cold Broken Hill really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Broken Hill feels like about 34°C (around January 15). About 65 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 34 | 32 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 29 | 32 |
| Air high (°C) | 34 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 29 | 32 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 20 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Air low (°C) | 20 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 34 | 20 | 20 |
| Feb | 32 | 33 | 19 | 19 |
| Mar | 29 | 29 | 16 | 16 |
| Apr | 24 | 24 | 12 | 12 |
| May | 19 | 19 | 6 | 9 |
| Jun | 16 | 16 | 3 | 6 |
| Jul | 16 | 16 | 2 | 6 |
| Aug | 18 | 18 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep | 22 | 22 | 7 | 9 |
| Oct | 25 | 26 | 12 | 12 |
| Nov | 29 | 29 | 15 | 15 |
| Dec | 32 | 32 | 18 | 18 |
Average hourly temperature in Broken Hill
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on January afternoons, near 34°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 6°C.
Broken Hill weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34° / 20° | 21 | 2.8 | 13.9 | 3.9 |
| Feb | 33° / 19° | 27 | 2.6 | 13.2 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 29° / 16° | 14 | 1.9 | 12.2 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 24° / 12° | 11 | 1.7 | 11.2 | 8.6 |
| May | 19° / 9° | 13 | 2.6 | 10.4 | 7.5 |
| Jun | 16° / 6° | 15 | 3.1 | 10 | 6.0 |
| Jul | 16° / 6° | 13 | 2.8 | 10.1 | 6.0 |
| Aug | 18° / 7° | 14 | 2.9 | 10.8 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 22° / 9° | 21 | 3 | 11.8 | 8.2 |
| Oct | 26° / 12° | 18 | 3.2 | 12.8 | 8.3 |
| Nov | 29° / 15° | 23 | 3.6 | 13.6 | 6.7 |
| Dec | 32° / 18° | 21 | 3.2 | 14.1 | 5.1 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Broken Hill gets about 211 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, and that barely changes with the seasons — rain is spread fairly evenly through the year.
February is the wettest month by volume, with 27 mm over about 3 wet days; April is the driest, with 11 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Rain days | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 3 |
| Feb | 9 | 3 |
| Mar | 6 | 2 |
| Apr | 6 | 2 |
| May | 9 | 3 |
| Jun | 10 | 3 |
| Jul | 9 | 3 |
| Aug | 9 | 3 |
| Sep | 10 | 3 |
| Oct | 10 | 3 |
| Nov | 11 | 4 |
| Dec | 10 | 3 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Broken Hill collects about 211 mm of rain across 33 wet days — roughly 18 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 27 mm, while April is the driest at just 11 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 21 | 27 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 23 | 21 |
| Rain days | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 |
| Feb | 27 | 3 |
| Mar | 14 | 2 |
| Apr | 11 | 2 |
| May | 13 | 3 |
| Jun | 15 | 3 |
| Jul | 13 | 3 |
| Aug | 14 | 3 |
| Sep | 21 | 3 |
| Oct | 18 | 3 |
| Nov | 23 | 4 |
| Dec | 21 | 3 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Broken Hill, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around December 20 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around April 21. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around April 22 and lasts for 3.0 months, ending around July 22. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 36% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 79 | 78 | 80 | 74 | 66 | 64 | 71 | 75 | 77 | 71 | 68 | 72 |
| Cloudier (%) | 21 | 22 | 20 | 26 | 34 | 36 | 29 | 25 | 23 | 29 | 32 | 28 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 79 | 21 |
| Feb | 78 | 22 |
| Mar | 80 | 20 |
| Apr | 74 | 26 |
| May | 66 | 34 |
| Jun | 64 | 36 |
| Jul | 71 | 29 |
| Aug | 75 | 25 |
| Sep | 77 | 23 |
| Oct | 71 | 29 |
| Nov | 68 | 32 |
| Dec | 72 | 28 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around January 1, brings about 14 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around June 12, only 9 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 12 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 10.4 | 10.0 | 10.1 | 10.8 | 11.8 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.1 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:17 | 6:44 | 7:07 | 7:28 | 7:49 | 8:07 | 8:07 | 7:44 | 7:04 | 6:25 | 6:00 | 5:58 |
| Sunset (PM) | 8:10 | 7:54 | 7:21 | 6:41 | 6:12 | 6:02 | 6:13 | 6:33 | 6:53 | 7:13 | 7:39 | 8:03 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.9 | 6:17 | 8:10 |
| Feb | 13.2 | 6:44 | 7:54 |
| Mar | 12.2 | 7:07 | 7:21 |
| Apr | 11.2 | 7:28 | 6:41 |
| May | 10.4 | 7:49 | 6:12 |
| Jun | 10.0 | 8:07 | 6:02 |
| Jul | 10.1 | 8:07 | 6:13 |
| Aug | 10.8 | 7:44 | 6:33 |
| Sep | 11.8 | 7:04 | 6:53 |
| Oct | 12.8 | 6:25 | 7:13 |
| Nov | 13.6 | 6:00 | 7:39 |
| Dec | 14.1 | 5:58 | 8:03 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Broken Hill averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 13 and 22 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.2 months, from around Dec 16 to Apr 22. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is June, down near 14 sunny days — about 35% fewer than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 21 | 19 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 19 |
| Sky | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | Bright |
| Feb | 19 | Bright |
| Mar | 22 | Bright |
| Apr | 18 | Bright |
| May | 16 | Bright |
| Jun | 14 | Mixed |
| Jul | 16 | Bright |
| Aug | 18 | Bright |
| Sep | 18 | Bright |
| Oct | 18 | Bright |
| Nov | 16 | Bright |
| Dec | 19 | Bright |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Broken Hill, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in February, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 11% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 83 | 77 | 88 | 96 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98 | 92 | 89 |
| Comfortable (%) | 8 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Humid (%) | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Muggy (%) | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oppressive (%) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 83 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Feb | 77 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Mar | 88 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Apr | 96 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 98 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 98 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 92 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 89 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Broken Hill is typically light breeze, near 17 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 7.0 months, from around Aug 8 to Mar 9. The windiest month is January, averaging about 19 km/h (light breeze).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 10 to Aug 7, with May the calmest month at about 15 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Feels | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | light breeze |
| Feb | 18 | light breeze |
| Mar | 17 | light breeze |
| Apr | 16 | light breeze |
| May | 15 | light breeze |
| Jun | 16 | light breeze |
| Jul | 16 | light breeze |
| Aug | 17 | light breeze |
| Sep | 18 | light breeze |
| Oct | 19 | light breeze |
| Nov | 19 | light breeze |
| Dec | 19 | light breeze |
Best time to visit Broken Hill
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Broken Hill throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early November, Broken Hill is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Broken Hill for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid March to late May and again from mid August to mid November, with a peak score in the third week of April.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 3.9 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 6.7 | 5.1 |
| Rating | fair | fair | good | ideal | good | good | good | good | ideal | ideal | good | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.9 | fair |
| Feb | 4.7 | fair |
| Mar | 7.0 | good |
| Apr | 8.5 | ideal |
| May | 7.5 | good |
| Jun | 6.0 | good |
| Jul | 6.0 | good |
| Aug | 7.2 | good |
| Sep | 8.2 | ideal |
| Oct | 8.3 | ideal |
| Nov | 6.7 | good |
| Dec | 5.1 | fair |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Broken Hill for hot-weather activities is from late September to late April, with a peak score in the third week of March.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Broken Hill, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around January (highs near 34°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 16°C), pack a warm layer.
In January, Broken Hill sees daytime highs around 34°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.
UV index (midday) in Broken Hill by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Broken Hill peaks around December 23 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 3 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 13 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | High | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | Extreme |
| Feb | 12 | Extreme |
| Mar | 10 | Extreme |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 3 | Moderate |
| Jul | 3 | Moderate |
| Aug | 5 | Moderate |
| Sep | 7 | High |
| Oct | 9 | Very high |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 14 | Extreme |
Average hourly UV index in Broken Hill
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in December the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 9 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4.5 | 6 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 9.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 7 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 7 |
| Feb | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 6 | 2 |
| May | 4 | 0 |
| Jun | 2 | 0 |
| Jul | 2 | 0 |
| Aug | 4.5 | 0 |
| Sep | 6 | 2.5 |
| Oct | 7.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 8.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 9.5 | 7 |
Growing season
Broken Hill is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 98 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 99 | 0 |
| Jun | 98 | 0 |
| Jul | 97 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 0 |
| Sep | 99 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Broken Hill banks about 3,101 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 522 | 445 | 391 | 244 | 121 | 35 | 20 | 68 | 165 | 270 | 361 | 458 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 522 |
| Feb | 445 |
| Mar | 391 |
| Apr | 244 |
| May | 121 |
| Jun | 35 |
| Jul | 20 |
| Aug | 68 |
| Sep | 165 |
| Oct | 270 |
| Nov | 361 |
| Dec | 458 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Broken Hill receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.7 and 8.5 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Sep 19 to Mar 29. The brightest month is January, averaging about 8.0 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is June, down near 2.8 kWh/m² — roughly 66% less than the January peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 8.2 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| Level | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.2 | Intense |
| Feb | 7.2 | Intense |
| Mar | 6.2 | Intense |
| Apr | 4.7 | Bright |
| May | 3.4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 2.7 | Moderate |
| Jul | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3.9 | Moderate |
| Sep | 5.4 | Bright |
| Oct | 6.7 | Intense |
| Nov | 7.5 | Intense |
| Dec | 8.0 | Intense |
Where is Broken Hill?
Broken Hill sits at 32.0°S, 141.5°E, 317 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Mildura, 256 km away.
Topography around Broken Hill
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Broken Hill.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Broken Hill has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 118 m around an average of 304 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 189 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 408 m.
The land around Broken Hill is covered by artificial surfaces (34%) and shrubs (27%) within 3 km, grassland (79%) within 16 km, and grassland (97%) within 80 km.
Australia travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type I
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 90% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $65,130
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.9 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 0.9
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 4.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Broken Hill (-31.9652°, 141.4512°, elevation 317 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).