Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, and is a city of 109,420 people (2001 Australian Census), on Australia's far north-western coastline. Darwin has a tropical climate, and is subjected to tropical thunderstorms and cyclones; the first recorded cyclone to hit Darwin was the 1867 cyclone, and much of the city was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. It is also the only Australian capital city to have come under substantial attack during any war: on February 19, 1942, Japanese planes made two major air raids on Darwin, the first of 63 air attacks experienced by the city during World War II.

Geography and climate

Darwin is situated in the Northern Territory, on the coast of the Timor Sea at geographic coordinates {{coor dm|12|27|S|130|50|E|region:AU-NT_type:city(109,419)}}.

Related Topics:
Timor Sea - Geographic coordinates

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Darwin is closer to the capitals of three other countries than to the capital of Australia: Darwin to Canberra is 3144 km. Dili (East Timor) is 656 km from Darwin, Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) is 1818 km, and Jakarta (Indonesia) is 2735 km from Darwin. Even Singapore is only slightly further away at 3360 km, and Manila (Philippines) at 3206 km.

Related Topics:
Canberra - Dili - East Timor - Port Moresby - Papua New Guinea - Jakarta - Indonesia - Singapore - Manila - Philippines

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Darwin has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry season runs from May to September. In the coolest months of June and July, daily temperature range is 19 to 30°C. The Wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March when thunderstorms are common and humidity is regularly over 70 per cent. Some of its climatic averages:

Related Topics:
Tropical - Tropical cyclone - Thunderstorm

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• Mean January maximum temperature — 32°C (89°F)
• Mean January minimum temperature — 24°C (76°F)
• Mean July maximum temperature — 30°C (86°F)
• Mean July minimum temperature — 20°C (68°F)
• Mean annual rainfall — 1669mm (65.7 inches)
• Wettest month on average — January, 422 mm (16.6 inches)
• Rain Days: 110