The Climate and Weather of Australia/Chapter 8

by Henry Ambrose Hunt, Griffith Taylor, E. T. Quayle

Layout 2

 

VIII.—CHIEF CLIMATIC REGIONS.

Our study of the chief weather elements has shown us that Australia has not one general climate, but contains within its vast area several types of climate. They may be classified according to many factors; such as amounts of rainfall, seasons of rainfall dominant winds, topography, &c., &c. A combination of the first two criteria seems to furnish the best primary division, while the less important factors will determine the secondary subdivision.

The proposed scheme may be tabulated as follows:

These subdivisions are shown in Fig. 58.

Monsoon Region.

This comprises the whole of Australia north of the Tropic of Capricorn, together with Southern Queensland and the north of New South Wales, The heaviest rains are in January and February. They are directly due to the indraught caused by the heating of the centre of the continent. This leads to the formation of a locus of low pressure (monsoonal depression) in Northern Australia, and the ascending winds are cooled and deposit their water vapour in heavy rain storms and thunder showers.

Over the greater portion of the area the winter is usually quite dry, and practically the whole of the rain falls in three or four months. But in the east, owing to two special controls, the rain is much more abundant and uniform. Along the Queensland coast the land rises to considerable heights, and there is a very permanent onshore wind the South-east Trade. This leads to a rainfall of over an inch each month in the winter, while the rest of the summer rain region is receiving nothing. It seems worth while therefore to separate this eastern fringe as a subdivision of the summer rain (or monsoon) region.

Meteorological data are given in the following table for type stations in this region:

Station.	State.	Height.	Description.
		Feet.
Broome	Western Australia	63	A coastal town, subject to hurricanes.
Hall's Creek	Western Australia	1,225	An inland mining township (200 miles from coast)
Darwin	Northern Territory		Capital of Northern Territory (on the coast)
Daly Waters	Northern Territory		An inland settlement on Overland Telegraph (300 miles from coast)
Cloncurry	Queensland	696	An inland town (200 miles south from Gulf of Carpentaria)
Charleville	Queensland	975	A town in South Queensland (300 miles from the Pacific coast)
[1]Harvey Creek	Queensland		A coastal town with heaviest rainfall in Australia (25 miles south of Cairns)
Brisbane	Queensland	137	Capital of Queensland; in the south-east, about 10 miles up the Estuary

Climatological Regions with Type Stations. Fig. 58.

Types of the Summer Rain Region.

Pressure.^[2]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Broome, Western Australia	29.721	29.731	29.758	29.847	29.920	29.950	29.962	29.951	29.908	29.860	29.792	29.748	29.846	15
Hall's Creek, Western Australia	29.720	29.737	29.787	29.890	29.982	30.012	30.016	29.982	29.916	29.853	29.788	29.742	29.869	12
Darwin, Northern Territory	29.701	29.710	29.746	29.796	29.851	29.881	29.897	29.895	29.864	29.829	29.780	29.727	29.806	31
Cloncurry, Queensland	29.714	29.756	29.823	29.948	30.042	30.077	30.082	30.076	30.009	29.934	29.866	29.783	29.926	12
Charleville, Queensland	29.815	29.874	29.938	30.074	30.169	30.181	30.170	30.165	30.096	30.041	29.950	29.857	30.028	9
Cairns, Queensland	29.752	29.805	29.826	29.923	30.007	30.020	30.028	30.048	30.023	30.003	29.930	29.840	29.934	9
Brisbane, Queensland	29.898	29.927	29.988	30.083	30.138	30.105	30.108	30.138	30.077	30.046	30.003	29.923	30.036	26

Types of the Summer Rain Region.

Temperature.^[3]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°
Broome, Western Australia	85.9	85.4	85.4	83.1	76.4	71.2	70.3	72.4	77.0	81.0	84.6	85.9	79.8	16
Hall's Creek, Western Australia	87.0	85.6	82.6	77.7	70.8	65.6	64.7	69.0	76.2	83.4	86.9	87.0	78.0	14
Darwin, Northern Territory	84.0	83.5	84.2	84.2	81.8	77.3	77.2	79.4	83.0	85.2	85.7	85.3	82.6	37
Daly Waters, Northern Territory	86.9	85.5	83.8	80.2	74.7	70.1	68.6	72.7	79.8	86.1	88.2	88.1	80.4	27
Cloncurry, Queensland	87.3	85.0	83.1	77.8	71.0	64.2	61.5	67.0	72.8	82.5	85.2	88.0	77.1	12
Charleville, Queensland	82.9	80.7	76.1	68.7	60.1	53.7	51.1	56.6	62.8	71.6	77.5	80.4	68.5	10
Cairns, Queensland	81.7	81.1	79.7	77.1	73.6	70.5	69.8	70.0	73.0	76.2	78.5	81.3	76.0	8
Brisbane, Queensland	77.2	76.5	74.3	70.2	64.4	60.0	58.0	60.5	65.1	69.8	73.3	76.4	68.8	26

Types of the Summer Rain Region.

Rainfall.

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Total for Year.	No of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Broome, Western Australia	4.96	6.35	3.77	1.35	.41	1.22	.27	.04	.08	.03	.93	3.55	22.96	23
Hall's Creek, Western Australia	5.28	4.73	2.92	1.18	.41	.24	.25	.12	.16	.59	1.36	3.43	20.67	22
Darwin, Northern Territory	15.27	13.05	9.70	4.50	.75	.16	.07	.11	.48	2.12	5.21	10.30	61.72	43
Daly Waters, Northern Territory	6.12	6.71	5.02	1.04	.15	.34	.07	.15	.29	.83	2.15	4.08	26.95	40
Cloncurry, Queensland	4.94	5.07	2.60	.86	.42	.44	.46	.10	.44	.46	1.13	2.99	19.91	23
Charleville, Queensland	2.49	3.14	3.23	1.46	1.41	1.33	.94	.58	.81	1.29	1.34	2.26	20.28	23
Harvey Creek, Queensland	30.87	22.18	32.19	22.20	13.20	7.98	4.22	5.42	3.68	3.81	8.10	11.73	165.58	16
Brisbane, Queensland	6.66	6.63	6.20	3.64	2.92	2.62	2.33	2.35	2.05	2.78	3.65	5.12	46.95	61

Dry Region.

This is bounded somewhat arbitrarily by the 10-in. annual isohyet. Two areas within the tract as plotted have more than 10 inches—in the north-east, the highlands of the MacDonnell Ranges, and in the north-west the Peak Hill Gold-field.

These two relatively wet areas may be related with the two favorite paths of the tropical "lows"; which often curve southward and south-eastward over Pilbara and Western Queensland respectively.

Owing to lack of information the northern boundary of the dry region cannot be accurately plotted, so that the line given—from Winning Pool to Barrow Creek—will, no doubt, need considerable revision later. Although the scattered rains of the north fall chiefly in January, and of the south in May and June, this variation does not determine the type of vegetation which is almost wholly controlled by absence of rain (xerophilous), and not by the season when it falls. The dry region, which consists mainly of an undulating tableland 1,000-3,000 feet high, forms therefore a united whole.

If the isohyets for 0.5 inches are plotted in each month (not shown in Figs. 39 to 50), the MacDonnell Ranges are seen to form an "oasis" in the arid region. In May, June, October, and November, when the districts not only south but east (Sturt's Desert, &c.) are receiving less than half-an-inch this region of uplands (3,000 feet) is favoured by more rainfall. Possibly the Musgrave Ranges—which are said to reach 5,000 feet (Mt. Woodroffe, 5,230 feet), also benefit in a similar degree, but no data are available.

The driest region so far furnished with rain-gauges lies east and north-east from Lake Eyre, where less than 5 inches is the average annual rainfall. This minimum rainfall is coincident with the lowest elevation, Lake Eyre being actually below sea-level, 39 feet.

In the northern moiety of the dry region the temperatures are of course much more severe than in the southern, for, as we have seen, the hottest portion of Australia lies between the Peak Hill and Pilbara Gold-Fields. The evaporation is therefore much greater here than in the southern gold-fields—an important factor in connexion with the water supply of these centres. (Compare Wiluna and Coolgardie in the following table):—

Evaporation Data.

Station.	Years.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Total Evaporation.	Annual Rainfall.
Carnarvon	4	14.6	11.9	10.8	8.3	5.3	4.3	5.0	6.4	7.5	10.0	11.8	13.4	109.3	9.05
Wiluna	8	21.4	17.7	15.7	10.6	7.3	4.7	5.0	6.7	9.5	14.3	18.3	21.7	152.9	9.76
Coolgardie	14	13.1	10.6	9.3	6.2	3.8	2.5	2.5	3.5	5.3	7.5	10.3	13.1	87.74	9.09

N.B.—Coolgardie, 36″ tank with water jacket. Carnarvon and Wiluna, 8″ dishes with small water jacket. No satisfactory determination of the factor required to relate evaporation results from these different experiments has yet been made, but it is possible that the 8″ dish will give the results from 5 to 15 per cent. in excess of those of the tank.

In the following tables, the meteorological data for a number of typical stations in the dry region are given:—

Station.	State.	Height.	Description.
		Feet.
Carnarvon	Western Australia	15	The driest costal town in Australia.
Nullagine	Western Australia	1,265	Inland town (150 miles from coast). Characterized by intense summer heat.
Peak Hill	Western Australia	1,930	Inland town (300 miles from coast).
Coolgardie	Western Australia	1,389	On the south-east boundary of the dry region (330 miles from coast).
Alice Springs	Northern Territory	2,000	In the Central Highlands (600 miles from coast)
William Creek	South Australia	250	Near Lake Eyre (250 miles from coast)
Broken Hill	New South Wales	1,000	Near the south-west boundary (200 miles from coast)

Types of the Dry Region.

Pressure.^[4]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Carnarvon, Western Australia	29.790	29.798	29.848	29.947	30.019	30.038	30.070	30.069	30.030	29.990	29.912	29.822	29.944	15
Nullagine, Western Australia	29.690	29.711	29.787	29.906	29.992	30.042	30.056	30.024	29.944	29.874	29.772	29.704	29.875	13
Peak Hill, Western Australia	29.702	29.726	29.808	29.929	30.023	30.064	30.079	30.051	29.968	29.898	29.792	29.710	29.896	14
Coolgardie, Western Australia	29.866	29.900	29.937	30.106	30.096	30.111	30.024	30.103	30.024	29.974	29.913	29.858	29.999	15
Alice Springs, Northern Territory	29.708	29.736	29.846	29.984	30.072	30.106	30.122	30.056	29.972	29.887	29.804	29.742	29.920	30
Broken Hill, New South Wales	29.875	29.905	29.962	30.120	30.154	30.163	30.114	30.142	30.042	30.030	29.934	29.860	30.025	5

Types of the Dry Region.

Temperatures.^[5]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°
Carnarvon, Western Australia	79.8	80.6	79.4	74.7	67.9	62.7	60.6	62.6	65.6	69.0	73.0	76.9	71.1	15
Nullagine, Western Australia	89.8	88.6	84.2	77.3	68.5	61.1	59.3	63.9	71.0	78.2	85.8	88.8	76.4	14
Peak Hill, Western Australia	87.6	86.2	82.1	74.0	63.8	56.5	54.7	58.9	65.0	71.8	80.3	86.2	72.3	14
Coolgardie, Western Australia	77.5	76.0	71.6	65.4	57.6	52.3	50.8	53.4	58.4	63.6	70.9	76.2	64.5	16
Alice Springs, Northern Territory	84.0	82.3	76.9	68.0	59.7	54.2	52.5	58.5	65.5	73.6	79.5	82.5	69.8	34
William Creek, South Australia	82.7	82.5	76.1	67.2	59.2	53.9	52.2	56.2	62.4	70.3	77.1	81.4	68.4	24
Broken Hill, New South Wales	78.4	77.9	71.8	63.9	56.6	51.0	49.2	52.8	58.4	65.8	73.0	76.6	64.6	21

Types of the Dry Region.

Rainfall.

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Total for Year.	Number of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Carnarvon, Western Australia	.30	.70	.45	.52	1.29	2.83	1.87	.63	.25	.08	.04	.09	9.05	30
Nullagine, Western Australia	2.67	2.02	2.60	1.04	.55	1.13	.70	.46	.01	.00	.39	1.17	12.74	15
Peak Hill, Western Australia	1.39	1.06	1.25	1.23	1.01	1.35	.86	.62	.20	.14	.19	.43	9.73	15
Coolgardie, Western Australia	.37	.69	.65	.64	1.35	1.18	.87	.90	.61	.69	.52	.62	9.09	20
Alice Springs, Northern Territory	1.68	1.73	1.24	.90	.60	.57	.46	.40	.41	.72	.90	1.32	10.93	39
William Creek, South Australia	.55	.41	.77	.45	.45	.69	.25	.29	.45	.33	.42	.35	5.41	39
Broken Hill, New South Wales	.76	.84	.63	.72	.87	1.41	.66	.97	.68	.84	.71	.80	9.89	24

Intermediate Region of Uniform Rains.

In our description of the monthly rainfall we saw that the distribution areas were shaped like crescents. The summer rain crescent includes Northern Australia and South-eastern Australia; the winter rain crescent includes South-western Australia and South-eastern Australia. In other words, the two crescents do not meet in the north-west—so far as any but light rains are concerned—but overlap in the south-east. Hence the central coastal aridity in Western Australia, and the region of uniform monthly rainfall in Eastern Australia.

The latter region is a somewhat triangular area reaching from Wilcannia east to the coast at Port Macquarie, and south-east to Albury and thence to Melbourne. A reference to the following tables shows that Dubbo is the typical station, for, as already noted, it has just under 2 inches of rainfall each month of the year. Cobar and Wilcannia to the north-west and Goulburn and Delegate to the south-east are also on the axis of uniformity. To the north-east the summer rains grow proportionately greater—though a considerable amount of rain falls all the winter. To the south-west the June maximum becomes very evident—and West or South-west from the Grampians the winter rainfall is more than double that of summer.

Fig. 59.

Anticyclone causing south-easterly winds and rain in coastal districts of New South Wales.

Furthermore, along the coast from Port Stephens to Ulladulla is an "enclave" of autumn rains. This includes Sydney, and forms a narrow coastal strip with heavy rains in February, March, April, May, and June, and moderate rains in the remaining months. An explanation of this is suggested in the following paragraphs, based on conditions in 1912.

During these autumn months the anticyclones move along latitudes of about 35° S. (In midwinter this path is along 28° and in midsummer along 42°. In Spring the paths are much the same as in autumn.)

About once a week during the autumn months of 1912 this coastal strip experienced rains, while the rest of New South Wales was dry. This rain generally accompanied south-east on-shore winds, in the front and north of a high, as shown in Fig. 59. Out of nineteen examples of this type of rain distribution, in autumn, 1912, no less than fifteen occurred when the "high" was centred about the Bass Straits. (Roughly, between Mt. Gambier and Gabo.)

Meteorological data for the following stations is given in the tables:—

Town.	State.	Height.	Distance from Coast.	Description.
		Feet.	Miles.
Wilcannia	New South Wales	267	300	An inland town in the Western Plains
Dubbo	New South Wales	870	200	On the western slopes of the Divide
Newcastle	New South Wales	..	..	Coastal town near boundary of uniform regions and autumn rains
Sydney	New South Wales	146	..	Capital, on the coast, with autumn maximum
Moruya	New South Wales	..	..	Coastal town in the south
Yass	New South Wales	1,650	100	On the western slopes of the Divide
Kiandra	New South Wales	4,640	100	Highest town in Australia
Sale	Victoria	..	..	Coastal town in drier region of Gippsland
Melbourne	Victoria	115	..	Capital, at south-west corner of uniform region
Hobart	Tasmania	160	..	Capital, on south-east of island

Types of the Uniform Rain Region.

Pressure.^[6]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Wilcannia, New South Wales	29.888	29.920	30.016	30.124	30.177	30.153	30.172	30.147	30.097	30.033	29.984	29.913	30.052	30
Dubbo, New South Wales	29.899	29.935	30.017	30.117	30.173	30.135	30.153	30.144	30.079	30.020	29.958	29.896	30.044	29
Newcastle, New South Wales	29.915	29.961	30.038	30.095	30.107	30.082	30.109	30.103	30.041	30.002	29.974	29.905	30.028	50
Sydney, New South Wales	29.930	29.975	30.051	30.108	30.116	30.080	30.116	30.105	30.045	30.003	29.971	29.916	30.035	51
Moruya, New South Wales	29.908	29.966	30.031	30.056	30.092	30.033	30.069	30.086	29.994	29.960	29.949	29.881	30.002	35
Sale, Victoria	29.879	29.961	30.018	30.050	30.098	30.057	30.042	30.054	29.949	29.918	29.931	29.897	29.988	17
Melbourne, Victoria	29.913	29.962	30.037	30.101	30.106	30.078	30.097	30.067	29.996	29.965	29.952	29.896	30.014	55
Hobart, Tasmania	29.849	29.942	29.969	29.971	30.016	29.974	29.951	29.954	29.866	29.856	29.821	29.819	29.916	28

Types of the Uniform Rain Region.

Temperatures.^[7]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°
Wilcannia, New South Wales	81.4	79.9	74.0	65.4	57.7	52.3	50.0	53.9	60.2	68.2	74.8	79.4	66.4	27
Dubbo, New South Wales	78.6	77.0	70.8	64.0	55.2	49.6	47.4	50.6	56.2	63.4	70.9	76.1	62.7	35
Newcastle, New South Wales	73.0	72.4	71.0	66.4	60.3	56.0	54.0	56.2	60.4	64.9	68.6	71.5	64.6	47
Sydney, New South Wales	71.6	71.0	69.2	64.5	58.6	54.3	52.3	54.8	58.8	63.4	67.0	70.0	63.0	54
Moruya, New South Wales	69.0	68.6	67.2	63.2	57.1	53.0	51.8	53.6	56.9	60.2	63.9	66.4	60.9	37
Sale, Victoria	65.8	66.5	63.1	58.4	53.2	49.1	47.5	49.9	52.4	56.0	61.4	64.0	57.3	16
Melbourne, Victoria	67.5	67.3	64.7	59.5	54.1	50.3	48.4	51.0	54.0	57.5	61.3	64.5	58.3	57
Hobart, Tasmania	62.4	62.4	59.5	55.1	50.4	46.8	45.3	47.7	50.8	53.9	57.5	60.3	54.3	42

Types of the Uniform Rain Region.

Rainfall.

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Total for Year.	No of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Wilcannia, New South Wales	0.97	0.83	1.12	0.69	1.04	1.06	0.59	0.84	0.69	0.92	0.68	0.76	10.19	34
Dubbo, New South Wales	2.13	1.87	1.82	1.78	1.87	2.01	1.67	1.83	1.86	1.55	1.78	2.02	22.19	41
Port Macquarie, New South Wales	5.94	7.52	6.52	5.86	5.59	4.63	4.54	3.80	3.95	3.20	4.08	5.87	61.50	42
Sydney, New South Wales	3.67	4.70	5.07	5.24	4.95	5.18	4.68	3.29	2.89	2.82	2.91	2.60	48.00	54
Moruya, New South Wales	3.79	3.32	4.19	3.05	2.77	3.17	2.52	2.29	2.66	2.73	2.30	2.33	35.12	37
Kiandra, New South Wales	4.09	3.15	4.05	4.37	5.27	8.70	6.55	5.95	6.86	6.61	4.90	3.95	64.45	40
Sale, Victoria	2.05	1.52	1.96	1.90	1.83	2.33	1.88	2.01	2.30	2.20	2.14	2.12	24.24	24
Melbourne, Victoria	1.85	1.74	2.18	2.32	2.15	2.11	1.86	1.81	2.35	2.64	2.20	2.30	25.51	57
Hobart, Tasmania	1.80	1.45	1.65	1.80	1.91	2.22	2.10	1.83	2.14	2.24	2.50	1.93	23.57	70

Winter Rain Region.

This region consists of a belt along the south coasts of Australia. It may be subdivided into four sections on geographical grounds, though the meteorology does not differ so much as might be expected—

(1) The south-west corner or Westralia Felix.

(2) The Bight Littoral.

(3) South Australian gulfs, Western Victoria, and the Riverina, New South Wales.

(4) Tasmania (except the south-east).

In these areas there is a strong maximum of rainfall in June, especially in the west. Along the Australian Bight the area receiving more than 10 inches is extremely narrow. The effect of the Flinders Range, which lies athwart the westerly winds, in improving the rainfall of South Australia is very strikingly shown. Probably the long "Rift" Gulf immediately to the west also tends to increase the rainfall hereabouts. In Victoria, the rainfall becomes more uniform towards the north-east.

Along the west coast of Tasmania is a region, unique in Australia, where a superabundance of rain has almost prohibited settlement. There are practically no inhabitants in the south-west region, which is very rugged country covered with an almost impenetrable scrub. The rainfall reaches 115 inches per year on the highlands behind Macquarie Harbor, and is therefore only exceeded at Harvey Creek and neighbouring stations in North Queensland.

Around Hobart is a small region having a much more uniform rainfall with a spring maximum.

Meteorological data for the following stations will indicate how the elements vary in the Winter Rain Region:—

Town.	State.	Description.
Perth	Western Australia	Capital. On Melville Water, 10 miles from ocean
Esperance	Western Australia	On the south coast
Eucla	Western Australia	On the coast, at the head of the Great Australian Bight
Port Augusta	South Australia	On the coast, at the head of Spencer's Gulf
Adelaide	South Australia	Capital. On the east coast of St. Vincent' Gulf
Robe	South Australia	On the coast, in the south-east corner of South Australia
Albury	New South Wales	In the Eastern Riverina, 542 feet above sea-level
Launceston	Tasmania	On the Tamar Estuary, and 30 miles from the sea

Types of the Winter Rain Region.

Pressure.^[8]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Perth, Western Australia	29.911	29.927	29.990	30.074	30.079	30.065	30.096	30.088	30.057	30.034	29.994	29.932	30.021	28
Esperance, Western Australia	29.965	29.988	30.028	30.101	30.087	30.036	30.058	30.069	30.012	29.994	29.992	29.958	30.024	16
Eucla, Western Australia	29.924	29.952	30.017	30.087	30.101	30.081	30.110	30.067	30.020	29.981	29.962	29.919	30.018	34
Port Augusta, South Australia	29.874	29.906	29.998	30.102	30.137	30.119	30.148	30.105	30.038	29.983	29.945	29.887	30.020	33
Adelaide, South Australia	29.915	29.952	30.038	30.118	30.125	30.099	30.131	30.100	30.038	29.996	29.973	29.920	30.034	56
Robe, South Australia	29.933	29.978	30.037	30.095	30.127	30.055	30.050	30.058	29.987	29.963	29.971	29.926	30.015	23
Albury, New South Wales	29.883	29.959	30.015	30.084	30.110	30.092	30.097	30.094	30.018	29.969	29.932	29.869	30.010	43
Cape, Otaway, Victoria	29.918	29.965	30.031	30.043	30.075	30.030	30.040	30.011	29.967	29.940	29.934	29.899	29.988	46

Types of the Winter Rain Region.

Temperatures.^[9]

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Year.	Number of Years.
	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°	°
Perth, Western Australia	73.6	74.2	71.2	66.4	60.4	56.2	55.0	56.0	57.9	60.9	65.4	70.6	64.0	16
Esperance, Western Australia	68.6	69.2	66.7	63.2	58.8	55.1	53.6	54.7	56.8	59.4	63.0	66.3	61.2	16
Eucla, Western Australia	70.9	71.2	69.3	66.1	60.9	55.9	54.3	56.3	59.3	62.7	65.9	69.3	63.5	35
Port Augusta, South Australia	77.5	78.1	73.3	66.3	59.8	54.5	52.8	55.6	60.4	66.7	72.2	75.8	66.1	24
Adelaide, South Australia	74.2	74.0	69.9	63.9	57.7	53.4	51.5	53.8	57.0	61.9	67.1	71.1	62.9	56
Robe, South Australia	64.7	65.0	62.1	58.7	55.6	52.4	50.8	52.0	53.8	56.7	60.1	62.3	57.8	23
Albury, New South Wales	76.2	74.3	69.3	60.4	52.1	47.8	45.9	49.0	53.8	60.1	66.9	71.9	60.7	43
Launceston, Tasmania	64.1	64.5	60.6	55.5	49.1	46.5	44.1	46.3	50.2	53.9	58.2	62.0	54.8	18

Types of the Winter Rain Region.

Rainfall.

Station.	January.	February.	March.	April.	May.	June.	July.	August.	September.	October.	November.	December.	Total for Year.	No of Years.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
Perth, Western Australia	.33	.31	.71	1.65	4.88	6.51	6.44	5.55	3.37	2.06	.76	.54	33.11	37
Esperance, Western Australia	.57	.67	.99	1.51	2.94	4.10	3.99	3.81	2.73	2.15	.97	.84	25.27	29
Eucla, Western Australia	.66	.53	.97	1.20	1.23	1.15	.90	.96	.76	.68	.70	.39	10.13	37
Port Augusta, South Australia	.54	.46	.75	.82	1.15	1.18	.69	.86	.93	.88	.69	.51	9.46	53
Adelaide, South Australia	.73	.60	1.06	1.87	2.74	3.10	2.66	2.50	1.95	1.74	1.15	.94	21.04	74
Robe, South Australia	.80	.65	1.19	1.91	3.04	4.01	3.95	3.62	2.15	1.69	1.07	1.01	24.69	52
Albury, New South Wales	1.44	1.70	2.06	2.12	2.50	3.47	2.77	2.76	2.57	2.71	1.99	1.05	27.75	49
Launceston, Tasmania	2.01	1.14	1.83	2.01	2.58	3.48	2.97	2.75	2.96	2.62	1.79	2.00	28.14	26

Comparison of Climatic Regions.

Each of the four or five main divisions of Australia which have been described in the foregoing can be paralleled by simlar regions in other parts of the world. These are briefly summarized in the following table (based on Herbertson and Koepper):—

Australian.	Extra-Australian.
1. Summer rain region	Sudan, Brazil (like the wetter north portion); and South Siberia and Argentine (like the drier south-east portion)
1a. North-east coast (trade wind region)	Florida, South China coast
2. Dry region	Kalahari, Atacama, Sahara, Arizona
3. Uniform rain region	Uruguay, Cape Colony (south-east)
3a. Autumn maximum	Eastern U.S.A.,Natal, South-east Brazil
4. Winter rain region	Cape Colony (west), Chili, California, and Mediterranean lands

1. N.B.—As pressure and temperature normals are not available for Harvey Creek those for Cairns have been substituted.
2. Note.—The normals for Queensland stations refer to 9 a.m. observations only; the others are the means of the 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. observations.
3. The means of maxima and minima.
4. The normals for Broken Hill refer to 9 a.m. observations only; the others are the means of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. observations.
5. The means of maxima and minima.
6. The normals for New South Wales stations and Hobart refer to 9 a.m. observations only; the Melbourne and Sale normals are the equivalent hourly means deduced from 9 a.m., and 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. observations.
7. The means of maxima and minima, except for Sale, in which case the normals are the equivalent hourly means deduced from 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. observations.
8. The normals for Albury refer to 9 a.m. observations only; those for Cape Otway are equivalent hourly means deducted from 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. observations, and for the other stations the mean of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
9. The mean of maxima and minima.