Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Broken Hill New South Wales, Australia

In Broken Hill, the summers are hot, the winters are cold and windy, and it is dry and mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 39°F to 94°F and is rarely below 34°F or above 105°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Broken Hill for warm-weather activities is from late November to late March.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from November 22 to March 13, with an average daily high temperature above 87°F. The hottest month of the year in Broken Hill is January, with an average high of 94°F and low of 66°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.1 months, from May 21 to August 25, with an average daily high temperature below 66°F. The coldest month of the year in Broken Hill is July, with an average low of 39°F and high of 60°F.

In Broken Hill, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Broken Hill begins around July 8 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around October 16.

The clearest month of the year in Broken Hill is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 85% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 16 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around July 8.

The cloudiest month of the year in Broken Hill is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 31% of the time.

Broken Hill does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 5% to 10%, with an average value of 8%.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Broken Hill is November, with an average of 2.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 10% on January 30.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Broken Hill experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from August 27 to June 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Broken Hill is January, with an average rainfall of 0.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from June 18 to August 27. The month with the least rain in Broken Hill is August, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches.

The length of the day in Broken Hill varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2026, the shortest day is June 21, with 10 hours, 3 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 22, with 14 hours, 15 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:39 AM on October 3, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 37 minutes later at 7:17 AM on April 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:06 PM on June 11, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 8 minutes later at 8:14 PM on January 8.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Broken Hill during 2026, starting in the spring on October 4 and ending in the fall on April 5.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2026. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Broken Hill, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 2% of 2% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Broken Hill experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from August 23 to March 19, with average wind speeds of more than 10.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Broken Hill is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.1 months, from March 19 to August 23. The calmest month of the year in Broken Hill is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Broken Hill varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 2.6 weeks, from June 29 to July 17, with a peak percentage of 30% on July 1. The wind is most often from the south for 11 months, from July 17 to June 29, with a peak percentage of 53% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Broken Hill throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Broken Hill for general outdoor tourist activities is from late November to late March, with a peak score in the last week of February.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Broken Hill for hot-weather activities is from late December to late February, with a peak score in the last week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Broken Hill typically lasts for 11 months (345 days), from around July 23 to around July 4, rarely starting after August 22, or ending before June 11.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Broken Hill should appear around August 4, only rarely appearing before July 29 or after August 12.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from November 1 to February 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Broken Hill is December, with an average of 8.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from May 3 to August 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Broken Hill is June, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Broken Hill are -31.965 deg latitude, 141.451 deg longitude, and 1,040 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Broken Hill contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 394 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,011 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (597 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,371 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Broken Hill is covered by sparse vegetation (62%) and artificial surfaces (31%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (90%), and within 50 miles by sparse vegetation (89%).