Fires burning dangerously close can be seen from the Central Highlands Lodge on 22 January 2019 in Miena, Australia. Around 40 residents from the small town of Miena in Tasmania's Central Plateau were evacuated, as bushfires continued to burn in the area. Photo: Heath Holden / Getty Images
Fires burning dangerously close can be seen from the Central Highlands Lodge on 22 January 2019 in Miena, Australia. Around 40 residents from the small town of Miena in Tasmania’s Central Plateau were evacuated, as bushfires continued to burn in the area. Photo: Heath Holden / Getty Images

By Naaman Zhou
28 February 2019

(The Guardian) – Australia has endured its hottest summer ever, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, breaking the previous record set six years ago.

The 2018-19 summer, which produced near 50C days and topped temperature highs across the country, has officially exceeded the previous record set in 2012-13, which was 1.28C above what is considered normal. Climate analysts say it falls into a pattern of human-induced global warming.

January alone had already been confirmed as the hottest month ever recorded in Australia, with a mean temperature across the nation of 30.8C, which was 2.9C above the average for January temperatures (calculated between 1961–1990) of 27.9C.

On Thursday, the BoM revealed the whole season was officially the hottest ever recorded.

While exact figures are not yet confirmed, the bureau said this summer’s mean temperature was at least 2C above the 27.5C benchmark of what is considered normal, based on 1961-1990.

“Summer has been our warmest summer on record in terms of maximum temperatures, in terms of minimum temperatures and in terms of mean temperatures,” said Andrew Watkins, the BoM’s manager of long-range forecasting.

The statistics will come as no surprise to Australians who sweltered through back-to-back heatwaves and battled bushfires across the country. [more]

Australia breaks weather records with hottest ever summer

Tasmania’s Great Lake is smothered by smoke as vegetation fire comes dangerously close on 21 January 2019 in Miena, Australia. Photo: Heath Holden / Getty Images
Tasmania’s Great Lake is smothered by smoke as vegetation fire comes dangerously close on 21 January 2019 in Miena, Australia. Photo: Heath Holden / Getty Images

By Jocelyn Garcia
28 February 2019

(Brisbane Times) – Queensland experienced its warmest January on record and 2018-19 is on the brink of making the top 10 driest Australian summers since national rainfall figures began in 1910.

The weather bureau said preliminary figures indicated that the 2018-19 summer would also be among the top five warmest on record for each state and territory.

Meanwhile, Queensland had already surpassed last year’s mean temperature of 2.46 degrees above the long-term average after having a drier than usual January.

Brisbane had a record run of 16 days in a row at or above 32 degrees as well as its warmest mean maximum temperature on record.

The city surpassed the previous January record of five days ending on January 30, 2001.

The warmest of record for Brisbane was 31.9 degrees, which was 1.5 degrees above the long-term average of 30.4 degrees. […]

BoM manager of long-range forecasting Dr Andrew Watkins said the 2019 autumn outlook was not the news many were wanting to hear.

“After a record hot December and January it won’t come as a surprise that this summer will be our warmest on record, and apart from areas of northern Queensland, many locations fell short of their summer rainfall averages too,” he said. […]

“We also know that 24 of the last 29 years have seen a drier than average start to autumn in south eastern Australia, due to a long term southwards shift of our weather patterns.” [more]

Queensland breaks January record as Australia records one of its driest summers