Canberra Sea Temperature

Looking to find out what the sea water temperature in Canberra is for today and the next few days? Below are data and charts that will give you information about sea temperatures in Canberra and nearby locations.

Water temperature in Canberra right now

Below is the current sea temperature for Canberra, Australia on 8th December 2023.

18.71° C

(65.68° F)

  • yesterday: 18.8° C (65.84° F)
  • a week ago: 21.19° C (70.14° F)

At this temperature, water will feel cold compared to a swimming pool, but with a bit of experience and practice most people will find the water relatively comfortable to swim in.

The average sea temperature for Canberra on December 8th over the last 10 years is 20.02° C (68.04° F), with a low temperature of 18.57° C (65.43° F) and a high of 21.75° C (71.15° F).

Analysis and forecast for Canberra water temperatures

The water temperature in Canberra today is lower than the average temperature of 20.02° C (68.04° F) and the temperature on this day last year, 8th December 2022, was 18.57° C (65.43° F).

The chart and table below shows the change in water temperature in Canberra over the last 30 days:

Date Temperature (Celsius) Temperature (Fahrenheit)
December 8 18.71° C 65.68° F
December 7 18.8° C 65.84° F
December 6 21.54° C 70.77° F
December 5 21.42° C 70.56° F
December 4 21.52° C 70.74° F
December 3 21.5° C 70.7° F
December 2 21.42° C 70.56° F
December 1 21.19° C 70.14° F
November 30 21.21° C 70.18° F
November 29 21.09° C 69.96° F
November 28 21.09° C 69.96° F
November 27 20.99° C 69.78° F
November 26 20.94° C 69.69° F
November 25 20.73° C 69.31° F
November 24 20.95° C 69.71° F
November 23 20.86° C 69.55° F
November 22 20.44° C 68.79° F
November 21 20.42° C 68.76° F
November 20 20.37° C 68.67° F
November 19 20.31° C 68.56° F
November 18 20.3° C 68.54° F
November 17 20.18° C 68.32° F
November 16 20.04° C 68.07° F
November 15 19.88° C 67.78° F
November 14 19.72° C 67.5° F
November 13 19.69° C 67.44° F
November 12 19.66° C 67.39° F
November 11 19.72° C 67.5° F
November 10 19.65° C 67.37° F
November 9 20.05° C 68.09° F
November 8 20.17° C 68.31° F

The actual nearshore temperatures may vary by several degrees and this can also be heavily affected by weather. Strong winds can cause cold, deep waters to replace the surface waters that had been warmed by the sun, and heavy rain can also reduce the temperature of the sea surface temperature as well.

Water temperature in Canberra by month

The chart below shows the monthly average water temperature in Canberra.

For more detailed information on how the sea temperature in Canberra changes for each month of the year, choose from the months below.

Canberra map and nearby water temperatures

The highest temperature in Australia today is 31.45° C (88.61° F) in Gulf of Carpentaria. The lowest is in Bruny Island, where the temperature of the water is 13.54° C (56.38° F).

Why measure sea surface temperatures (SST) in Canberra?

The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, and scientists record the sea surface temperature (SST) of locations such as Canberra because they want to understand and learn how the ocean communicates with the atomosphere of Earth.

SST is one measure that provides information on the global climate, and it can be used to predict the weather in Canberra as well as atmospheric model simulations and to study marine ecosystems in the area.

Data source and citation

Raw data for the calculations made to find the sea surface temperature in Canberra comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their 1/4° daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature.

The water temperature data is constructed by combining observations from different platforms (satellites, ships, buoys, and Argo floats) on a regular global grid. A spatially complete sea surface temperature map is then built by interpolating to fill in gaps in the data.

If you'd like to use any of the information above in the format it is presented, please use the citation tool below.

  • "Canberra Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net. Accessed on December 8, 2023. http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/canberra/.

  • "Canberra Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net, http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/canberra/. Accessed 8 December, 2023

  • Canberra Sea Temperature. SeaTemperatures.net. Retrieved from http://seatemperatures.net/australia-and-oceania/australia/canberra/.