What is temperate climate?

Temperate climate in Australia is found across the southern parts of the continent, including most of the country's largest cities. It is characterised by four distinct seasons (summer, autumn, winter, spring), mild to warm summers, cool to cold winters, and generally reliable rainfall throughout the year or concentrated in winter.

The temperate zone covers Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Hobart, and stretches across southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the southern halves of South Australia and Western Australia. About 80 per cent of Australians live in the temperate climate zone, which is also where most of the country's wine, dairy, fruit, and grain production is concentrated.

Subtypes of temperate climate vary by region. South-eastern Australia, including Melbourne and Sydney, has a warm temperate climate with summer maximums in the high 20s and winter minimums around 5 to 10 degrees Celsius. Tasmania has a cool temperate climate with year-round rainfall and snow on higher peaks. Perth, Adelaide, and the south-west of Western Australia have a Mediterranean variant with hot dry summers and cool wet winters.

Temperate Australia is shaped by weather systems crossing from the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea. The Roaring Forties winds bring cold fronts and winter rain, while summer heatwaves can push temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in inland areas. The Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria on 7 February 2009 killed 173 people and remain Australia's worst bushfire disaster, and the Black Summer of 2019 to 2020 burnt more than 24 million hectares across the temperate south-east during the country's most extreme bushfire season on record.