 The climate of the Southwest National Park is renowned for its adverse, often inhospitable conditions across all seasons of the year.As noted by the Melaleuca- Port Davey Area Plan the climate is characterised by high annual rainfall of over 2000mm (as per the Bureau of Meteorology Port Davey station records from 1946 to 2000), often very strong to cyclonic westerly or south-westerly winds, low temperatures, frosts and high incidence of cloud cover.Although the climatic conditions of South-West National Park have been considered as rather inhospitable, or too unpredictable or capricious for humans to inhabit, as indicated by only the relatively small township on Strathgordon near the northern boundary of the park, it paradoxically is a major centre of biodiversity, with a number of species endemic to the park itself.