February 29, 2024 12:40 am
Published by Climate Extremes
Against the backdrop of the warmest winter on record in Australia, the state of New South Wales and the city of Sydney experienced their warmest recorded winters. The state of New South Wales experienced daily maximum temperatures 2.23°C above the 1961-1990 average. In addition, there was below average rainfall along the NSW coastline (Figure 1). The Bureau of Meteorology reported that more than 10 sites across Sydney (with active weather stations) had their highest winter-average daily maximum temperature on record.... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:34 am
Published by Climate Extremes
From late February to early March 2023, a persistent and slow-moving monsoon low produced extensive rainfall over wide areas of northern Australia, including the Northern Territory and north-west Queensland. While the low-pressure system was much weaker than a tropical cyclone, barely dropping below 1000 hPa (hectopascals), its long-lived and slow-moving nature led to spectacular accumulated rainfall totals over several days (Figure 1). The monsoon low initially formed around the 24th February over north-western Western Australia, situated within a prominent monsoon... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:30 am
Published by Climate Extremes
Over the 2022 Christmas and New Year period, ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie spent over two weeks moving slowly across the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Ellie brought heavy rainfall and record-breaking river flooding to multiple locations. Ellie made landfall near the mouth of the Daly River in the Northern Territory on 22nd December 2022 as a category 1 tropical cyclone. Ellie weakened to a tropical low as it travelled southeast over land, and brought substantial rainfall to many... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:26 am
Published by Climate Extremes
“Human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.” Australian surface air temperatures have risen by around 1.5°C, and will continue to rise until at least 2050 under all plausible emission scenarios, making further increases in some climate extremes inevitable. Our ability to detect changes in our climate, and attribute these to human-caused climate change is very high for global scale changes in quantities like temperature, rainfall and atmospheric pressure. Detecting changes... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:21 am
Published by Climate Extremes
Throughout 2023 ocean temperatures were unusually hot in Australian waters. Each month of the year was ranked within the top 60% for ocean temperature. March, in particular, was the fourth hottest ever for Australian waters, with ocean temperatures being on average 0.5°C higher than a normal March. Autumn water temperatures were especially high in Queensland, reaching up to 0.8°C hotter than normal. The high ocean temperatures have meant that 2023 has witnessed a concerning number of “marine heatwaves”– discrete and... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:17 am
Published by Climate Extremes
Australia’s overall rainfall for 2023 was close to the 1961- 1990 average. The year was marked by above-average rainfall in northern Australia, while the south-eastern quarter of Queensland, significant portions of New South Wales, Tasmania and southern Western Australia experienced drier than average conditions (Figure 1). The year began with above-average rainfall across Australia, influenced by the “triple-dip” La Niña phase. Summer rainfall was 27% above average, with some parts of the country experiencing record-breaking rainfall. From late December 2022 to early January 2023,... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:13 am
Published by Climate Extremes
Temperatures in Australia during 2023 were 0.98°C above the 1961-1990 average, making it the eighth hottest year on record. The year began relatively cooler than average, during the tail end of a “triple-dip” La Niña. In January and February 2023, several stations across Queensland and New South Wales observed their coldest summer day on record. However, summer mean temperatures around Australia were still higher than the 1961-1990 average, due to above average maximum temperatures over Western Australia, South Australia and... View Article
February 29, 2024 12:07 am
Published by Climate Extremes
After dominating the last three consecutive years, La Niña weakened in the tropical Pacific Ocean at the beginning of 2023 and officially ended in March. Neutral conditions returned; however, there were early signs that an El Niño could form later in the year. El Niño is characterised by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. An El Niño was announced at the beginning of July by the World Meteorological Organization after sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific warmed... View Article
