Darwin in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Darwin sees average daytime highs around 32°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 4 mm of rain over about 1 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 32°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 58% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Darwin's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Darwin's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 32°C
- 3rd-warmest season
- Avg overnight low
- 19°C
- Rainfall
- 4 mm
- 1 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 5.1
- best season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Darwin in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 32°C.
A typical winter day in Darwin reaches about 32°C and drops to 19°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.
How winter really feels in Darwin
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 44 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.
Darwin weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31° / 26° | 438 | 27.6 | 12.7 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 31° / 26° | 376 | 25.6 | 12.4 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 32° / 25° | 300 | 24.4 | 12.1 | 2.7 |
| Apr | 33° / 24° | 100 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 3.4 |
| May | 33° / 22° | 14 | 2.4 | 11.4 | 4.2 |
| Jun | 32° / 20° | 2 | 0.4 | 11.3 | 5.2 |
| Jul | 32° / 19° | 1 | 0.3 | 11.3 | 5.3 |
| Aug | 33° / 19° | 2 | 0.5 | 11.6 | 4.7 |
| Sep | 34° / 22° | 16 | 3.8 | 11.9 | 3.6 |
| Oct | 34° / 24° | 76 | 11.2 | 12.3 | 3.0 |
| Nov | 33° / 25° | 180 | 20.8 | 12.6 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 32° / 26° | 323 | 24.9 | 12.7 | 2.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 58% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Darwin gets around 4 mm of rain over 1 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 11 h 18 min in early June to 11 h 42 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 5.6 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Darwin
None of Darwin's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Darwin sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.
Darwin's monsoon runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Darwin?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Darwin for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.
What to pack for Darwin in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Darwin sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.
Sea temperature near Darwin in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 26°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea offshore is warmest in December at about 31°C and coldest in July near 26°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 31 |
| Comfort | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | Tropical |
| Feb | 30 | Tropical |
| Mar | 30 | Tropical |
| Apr | 30 | Tropical |
| May | 29 | Tropical |
| Jun | 27 | Warm |
| Jul | 26 | Warm |
| Aug | 26 | Warm |
| Sep | 28 | Warm |
| Oct | 30 | Tropical |
| Nov | 31 | Tropical |
| Dec | 31 | Tropical |
UV index in Darwin in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Darwin peaks around February 20 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 9 (very high).
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) | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | Extreme |
| Feb | 16 | Extreme |
| Mar | 16 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 10 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 11 | Extreme |
| Sep | 13 | Extreme |
| Oct | 14 | Extreme |
| Nov | 12 | Extreme |
| Dec | 13 | Extreme |
Air quality in Darwin in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Darwin is worst in June — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.1× the cleanest month (March, 5 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Darwin's WHO annual average of 9.1 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Good |
| Feb | 6 | Good |
| Mar | 5 | Good |
| Apr | 6 | Good |
| May | 14 | Moderate |
| Jun | 17 | Moderate |
| Jul | 12 | Moderate |
| Aug | 14 | Moderate |
| Sep | 9 | Good |
| Oct | 7 | Good |
| Nov | 7 | Good |
| Dec | 6 | Good |
Where is Darwin?
Darwin sits at 12.5°S, 130.8°E, 31 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Palmerston, 16 km away.
Topography around Darwin
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Darwin.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Darwin has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 40 m around an average of 5 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 51 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 227 m.
The land around Darwin is covered by water (62%) within 3 km, water (46%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and water (44%) and trees (38%) 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 Darwin (-12.4611°, 130.8418°, elevation 31 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.