Key Points
- Australia has recorded its hottest-ever winter temperature, with Yampi Sound in Western Australia reaching 41.6C.
- Over the weekend, several parts of Australia broke temperature records, with some as much as 15C above average.
- Climate scientist Martin Jucker said the unusually warm winter is due to climate change.
Australia has recorded its hottest-ever winter temperature, with Yampi Sound in remote Western Australia reaching 41.6C on Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
The old national record of 41.2C was reached at West Roebuck, also in Western Australia, on 23 August 2020.
Temperatures around the world have been steadily increasing for years, but the last two summers have been particularly hot, according to climate scientist Martin Jucker.
"We still don’t know why the last two years have been so warm, it's been a sudden jump," he said.
Jucker, who is a senior lecturer in atmospheric sciences at the University of New South Wales, says this unusually hot winter is due to a worrying trend: climate change.
"There's been an increase in temperatures in Australia — while it's easier to predict a warmer summer, the variability of weather means the heat can have unexpected impacts," he said.
"At the moment there is a high-pressure system over the Tasman Sea, which means clear skies and less cloud cover. The days are now lengthening, meaning the ground is exposed to the sun a lot more, which could explain this unusually hot winter."
The average August temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees since 1910. Source: SBS News
'Definitely alarming'
Climate scientist Andrew King from the University of Melbourne says the weather has been particularly variable in Australia's interior.
"The spike in temperature is definitely alarming. We are seeing stronger temperature anomalies in the middle of Australia, where some places are up to 10 degrees hotter than usual," he said.
"It is harder to predict the weather for our coastal cities, but there does tend to be less variability."
On Friday, temperatures across northern South Australia and southern parts of the Northern Territory were as much as 15C above average.
Over the weekend, several parts of Australia broke temperature records.
Hot weather has been experienced throughout central Australia in August. Source: SBS News
"A scorching end to winter, with widespread heat around the country in coming days, including the chance of winter records across multiple states for maximum temperature," he said.
"If you live north of Sydney or north of Perth, its going to stay fairly warm, we don't anticipate a broad scale stretch of cooler weather."
