Australia recorded its hottest August on record, with the national temperature 3C above average, as September kicked off with total fire bans in parts of New South Wales on Monday.
Bureau of Meteorology data showed average temperatures across the nation in August were 3.03C above the long-term average, easily beating the previous 2.56C record set in 2009.
The 2024 winter also ranked as the second hottest on record going back to 1910, the data showed, coming in at 1.48C above average. The hottest winter on record was 2023 at 1.54C above average.
On Monday, the NSW Rural Fire Service issued total fire bans for greater Sydney and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region.
Climate scientists have described the extreme temperatures across Australia since the middle of August as “gobsmacking”.
While high-pressure systems over the continent kept skies clear and pushed temperatures higher, climate scientists said the extreme nature of the heatwave was likely caused by global heating.
Dr Simon Grainger, a senior climatologist at the bureau, said: “When we get these significant heat events, they can break records by quite a large margin.”
He said ocean temperatures around the continent had been very high in July and this had “set the groundwork” for the warmer conditions.
Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland all set record winter high temperatures during the second half of August. Large parts of the country saw daily and nighttime temperatures more than 10C above average.
The hottest winter temperature on record for the country, 41.6C, was set on 26 August at Yampi Sound in the remote Kimberley area.
In NSW on Monday, the fire danger rating was high for greater Sydney and extreme for the Illawarra area.
The NSW RFS inspector, Ben Shepherd, said it was not unusual to have elevated fire risk around this time of year.
“This is showing that while we did have wet weather initially, it quickly swung the other way to being very dry and warm. But it is the wind that is driving the fire danger up.”
There should be a return to moderate fire risk for the rest of the week, he said.
He said the past three years were relatively benign for fire weather, but the weather bureau forecasts were showing warmer than average conditions were likely for the next three months.
“That means now is the time to set up and get your property prepared and have your fire plans in place,” he said.
Later this week the Australasian Fire And Emergency Services Authorities Council is expected to release an outlook on the risk of bushfires around the country for spring.
