Perth
Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million. The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth's metropolitan area sits on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp. The city has expanded outward from the original British settlements on the Swan River, upon which its central business district and port of Fremantle are situated. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a series of mining booms propelled Perth into the role of the regional headquarters for significant mining operations.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
2dry-hot-summer
hot, sunny and dry; openmeteo mean 17.1-23.4 °C (Feb warmest 23.4; ~26 days/yr ≥35 °C and 5 days ≥40 °C; extreme 46.2 °C); essentially rainless (Dec 0.3 mm/day); the Fremantle Doctor sea breeze relieves afternoons
- the beach-and-coast season — Cottesloe, the Indian Ocean coast and the Swan River are the defining summer affordance
- the Perth Festival and Fringe World (Jan-Feb); Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe
wet-mild-winter
mild and wet; openmeteo mean 15.5-18.5 °C (Aug coolest 15.5); the frontal-rain season (May-Sep, Jul wettest 4.6 mm/day); minima occasionally below 5 °C
- the wet winter — the green window; the Winter Arts Festival; the lowest beach density
- the frontal systems move across the region, interspersed with clear sunny days
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Perth Festival
- the Perth Festival — Australia's longest-running annual cultural festival
- includes the Perth Writers Festival and the Winter Arts Festival
Sculpture By the Sea
- Sculure by the Sea — local and international sculptures along Cottesloe Beach
1987 Americas Cup
- Perth (Fremantle) hosted the 1987 America's Cup defence — a transformative event for Fremantle
On the record
source-trackedPerth receives moderate, though highly seasonal, winter-based rainfall. Summers are generally hot, sunny and dry, lasting from December to March. Winters are relatively mild and wet, giving Perth a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa).
Perth has an average of 8.8 hours of sunshine per day, which equates to around 3,200 hours of sunshine and 138.7 clear days annually, making it Australia's sunniest capital city.
Temperatures above 35 °C occur, on average, 26 days per year and rise above 40 °C on 5 days per year. The highest temperature recorded in Perth was 46.2 °C on 23 February 1991.
On most summer afternoons a sea breeze, known locally as the Fremantle Doctor, blows from the south-west, providing relief from the hot north-easterly winds.
The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth's metropolitan area [is] on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp.
A series of mining booms in various regions of Western Australia propelled Perth into the role of the regional headquarters for significant mining operations.
The city has expanded outward from the original British settlements on the Swan River, upon which its central business district and port of Fremantle are situated.
Held annually since 1953, Perth Festival is Australia's longest running annual cultural festival.
Perth provides zero-fare bus and train trips around the city centre (the 'Free Transit Zone'), including four high-frequency CAT bus routes.
At the 2021 Census, 169,938 England-born Perth residents were counted, ahead of even Sydney (151,614), despite the latter having well over twice the population.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.