Canberra is known for being a cold place to live, with temperatures regularly dropping below zero degrees Celsius during the winter months.
The cold was partly what prompted James "King" O'Malley, a member of Australia's first federal parliament, to push for the location as the ideal site for Australia's new capital city.
He was quoted as saying "cold climates have produced the greatest geniuses".
Since then, much has been made of the capital's freezing temperatures — they have kept many away, and long-term residents are proud of their resilience.
But what are the reasons behind Canberra's iconic cold weather?
Inland city at high elevation and latitude
Canberra isn't the coldest place in Australia, but it's certainly the coldest capital city — even trumping Hobart despite it being further south.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, in winter Canberra's average warmest temperature sits at around 12.6 degrees Celsius.
That's compared to an average high of 13.7 degrees in Melbourne, 17.8 in Sydney, 16 in Adelaide, and 12.8 in Hobart.
But the significant difference comes in Canberra's average minimum temperature for winter, which is 0.9 degrees to Hobart's 5.3 degrees and Adelaide's 7.9.
Australian National University (ANU) climate science professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick said that as an inland city, Canberra did not have the "moderating effect of the ocean".
"Cities like Sydney or Melbourne can use the ocean as a moderator, so they don't get super-hot in summer nor too cold in winter — Canberra lacks that," she said.
And, as a general rule, the higher the elevation and further the latitude — or distance from the equator — the colder the conditions.
Canberra is located within the peaks of the Great Dividing Range, and by Australian capital city standards sits quite high — with most major cities residing on or only slightly above sea level.
"We're located about 600 metres above sea level … [and] for every 100 metres above sea level the temperature declines by about one degree celsius," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"If Canberra was at sea level, temperatures would be [on average] six degrees warmer."
The causes of Canberra's famous fog
Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said the topography around Canberra almost represented a basin, a valley closed off at one end, appearing like a sink or bowl in the local landscape with hills and mountains encasing the city.
"Canberra is right at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains … lots of deep cervices and valleys," she said.
"Cooler air sinks to the bottom of these valleys and warm air sits on top creating super deep fogs, especially on days with minimal wind."
Canberra itself is surrounded by mountains.
To the west and south are the Brindabella ranges, to the east Burrin Burrin Reserve.
This bowl-like landscape means that cold, heavier air tends to settle and stay in the basin, creating brisker conditions.
"Canberra sits in a deeper valley than many other places … having any kind of 'heavier air' whether laden with moisture [fog], or particulate [bushfire smoke], you need a good gust of wind to clear that out," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"Canberra's fogs can sometimes give the appearance of a 'grey and depressing city', especially if they set in – [but] they do not happen as often as people outside of Canberra like to think."
Why does Canberra get more hail than other cities?
Canberra is no stranger to hailstorms, with many residents and businesses still recovering four years on from a freak hailstorm that ripped through in January 2020.
Over 200,000 insurance claims were made from the one 15-minute downpour, with the ANU still undergoing restoration work on some of its buildings.
Hail forms through raindrops that are carried to higher elevations in a storm and then freeze in the cold temperatures of the atmosphere.
"We usually get our convective storms moving from the west to the east, passing over the Brindabella Ranges," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"As the weather system moves across the ranges, moisture in the air rises and condenses really quickly, and can fall as hail as it passes over the city of Canberra."
Convective storms, more commonly known as thunderstorms, are associated with cumulonimbus clouds formed through convection.
"You do need specific conditions for hail to form, it being a very localised effect," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"It is exactly what happened in the hailstorm of 2020. It's not a large-scale effect."
Hail is also much more common along mountain ranges, such as the Brindabella Ranges, as mountains force horizontal winds upwards, also known as orographic lifting, increasing the force that can carry raindrops higher within thunderstorms and increasing the likelihood of hail forming.
Canberra's higher elevation also means that hail has less time to melt before reaching the ground.
Climate change likely to bring more hail, heatwaves and bushfires
It's easy to assume that a warming climate will mean that water is less likely to freeze in the atmosphere, but that is not necessarily the case.
A recent study showed that as it progressed, climate change would create an increased chance of hailstorms across Australia, and increase the severity of hailstorms across most of the globe.
"The conditions that allow hail to form are predicted to be more likely with climate change. Whether or not hail forms is another question," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"It's definitely a possibility that when hail does occur, it will be larger and more destructive."
General projections suggest we will see more bushfires as well.
"Bushfire weather is predicted to get more extreme, simply because the land-surface can dry out more quickly with higher temperatures," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"If you happen to have a day with ferocious winds, it's a really bad recipe."
With global atmospheric temperatures warming, Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said we would also see fewer extreme cold events, but a higher chance of severe heatwaves.
"Ice cold mornings can and still will occur, but there will be a lower frequency of those really chilly days where it can get to minus 10 degrees Celsius, less than what has been seen historically," she said.
"In summer, like the rest of the world, we are expecting to see more heatwaves that are hotter as well."
While warming temperatures may not seem all bad, it is extremely bad for the region's local agriculture industries, especially wineries and grape growers.
Wine grapes are extremely picky on what temperature and climate they grow in, generally favouring the cooler, dry conditions found in Australia's inland areas, like the Southern Highlands and Canberra region.
"It ultimately depends on the crops and the animals that they grow, even the grape varieties," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"We have wineries in places warmer than Canberra like the Hunter Valley, but Canberra wineries may need to reconsider what grapes they grow."
A changing climate will mean that wineries will face fewer successful crop yields and may face pressure to move further south, back into optimal growing climates.
"The types of agriculture around Canberra may need to change to more heat-tolerant crops and livestock," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"It is not something that can change straight away, especially with slow-growing grape vines — climate change is something we need to be prepared for."
Not all bad?
In general, Canberra may be soon seen as a sanctuary from sweltering heat and rising tides, as coastal cities start to feel the burn of climate change.
"Something that all Canberrans should be grateful for is the fact that we do have a bit of elevation in summer," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
"The hottest Canberra day has been about 44 degrees Celsius — if we didn't have the elevation [of other capital cities] that could easily be a temperature of 49 to 50 degrees.
"As we are away from the coast, we also don't get the humidity — cities like Sydney get very humid in summer.
"There are certainly benefits to being located where we are."
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