Temperature Converter

Celsius, Fahrenheit and Kelvin

Australia uses Celsius, but Fahrenheit shows up in US recipes, weather reports and appliance settings, while Kelvin is used in science. Unlike most conversions, temperature scales don’t just use a multiplier — they have different zero points, so you add or subtract an offset as well. This converter handles all three scales in every direction.

Handy Temperatures to Remember

A few reference points make conversions easier: water freezes at 0 °C (32 °F) and boils at 100 °C (212 °F), normal body temperature is about 37 °C (98.6 °F), and a common fan-oven setting of 180 °C is 356 °F. The curious one is −40, where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet at the same number.

Where Each Scale Is Used

Celsius is the everyday scale across Australia, Europe and most of the world — it’s what you see in weather forecasts, oven dials and thermostats. Fahrenheit remains standard in the United States, so it turns up in American recipes, US weather reports, and imported appliances; converting an oven temperature from a US recipe is one of the most common reasons people reach for this tool. Kelvin is the scientific scale used in physics and chemistry, where it matters that zero represents absolute zero — the coldest possible temperature — rather than the freezing point of water. Because Kelvin and Celsius share the same degree size, converting between them is just a matter of adding or subtracting 273.15.

A quick mental shortcut for Celsius to Fahrenheit: double the Celsius figure and add 30. It’s not exact, but it gets you close enough for a rough sense — 20 °C becomes roughly 70 °F (the precise answer is 68 °F). For anything that needs to be accurate, such as cooking, medical readings or scientific work, use the exact conversion above.

How to Use This Converter

1. Enter the temperature in the "From" box.
2. Choose the scale you’re starting from — Celsius, Fahrenheit or Kelvin.
3. Choose the scale you want in the "To" box.
4. Read the converted temperature instantly.
5. Swap the scales with one click to reverse the conversion.

Worked Example: Converting an Oven Temperature

An American recipe says to bake at 375°F and your oven is marked in Celsius. Select Fahrenheit in the "From" box and Celsius in the "To" box, then enter 375. The converter subtracts 32 and multiplies by 5/9 to give about 190°C. Going the other way, a common Australian fan-oven setting of 180°C converts to 356°F.

Why Temperature Conversion Needs an Offset

Most unit conversions are a simple multiplication — one kilogram is always 2.2 pounds no matter the value. Temperature is different, because the three scales don’t share the same zero point. Celsius sets zero at the freezing point of water; Fahrenheit sets zero much lower, at a salt-ice mixture, so its scale is both shifted and stretched; and Kelvin starts at absolute zero, the coldest temperature physically possible. This means converting isn’t just scaling a number — you have to add or subtract an offset as well. To go from Celsius to Fahrenheit you multiply by 9/5 and then add 32; to reach Kelvin you simply add 273.15, since Kelvin and Celsius share the same degree size. These offsets are why a quick converter is genuinely useful: the mental arithmetic is easy to get wrong, especially with negative temperatures. The one number worth memorising is −40, the single point where Celsius and Fahrenheit read exactly the same.

Quick Reference Table

Temperatures Worth Memorising

A short list of reference temperatures makes conversions much easier to sanity-check. Water freezes at 0°C (32°F) and boils at 100°C (212°F). Normal human body temperature is about 37°C (98.6°F), so a fever above 38°C is a little over 100°F. Comfortable room temperature sits around 20–22°C, which is about 68–72°F. In the kitchen, a moderate oven of 180°C is 356°F and a hot oven of 220°C is 428°F. And the quirky one worth knowing: −40°C and −40°F are the same temperature. With these anchors in mind, you can quickly tell whether a converted figure looks right before relying on it.