Australia just experienced its wettest summer in nearly a decade – and the eighth-hottest on record | Australia news
This summer has seen a jump from extremely hot to intensely wet in some parts of the country, with South Australia experiencing some of the heaviest swings of the season, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
According to the report, the 2025-26 season across the country has been the wettest season in almost a decade, with rainfall 32% above average across the country. Summary of the officeThe wettest rainfall since 2016-17.
It was also Australia’s eighth hottest summer on record, 1.1 degrees above the 1961-1990 average.
Qian Zhou, a climatologist at the bureau, said only one summer was hotter in the 20th century. This was the 1997-98 season, which was 1.11 degrees warmer than average.
Outside of that year, there have been nine of the ten hottest summers since 2012-13.
“The late January heatwave event was particularly severe, with 62 stations recording their highest ever daily maximum temperatures between 26 and 31 January,” the BoM summary said. he said.
The highest recorded maximum temperatures were recorded in South Australia, which had its fourth hottest summer, with 50C recorded at Andamooka on 29 January and Port Augusta on 30 January.
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The heat of January was followed by the rains of February.
“Summer rainfall is heavily concentrated in February over much of the country, especially in South Australia,” Zhou said. he said. He said several rain-producing weather systems, particularly last week’s tropical low, contributed to the outcome.
Zhou said February rainfall in South Australia was 356% above average; It was the second wettest in the state after 2011. Large parts of the state’s northeast saw their highest February rainfall ever after a very dry January.
Rainfall in February was above average in all states and territories except Tasmania, where it was 17% lower than normal.
Climate scientist Assoc. Prof. from the University of Melbourne. Andrew King stated that heat waves and fires were followed by rain and floods, and said, “The transition between dry and wet conditions was quite remarkable.”
Summers in Australia are always seasons of severe weather, and “as we continue to warm the planet we should expect some of these types of extreme weather events to get worse,” he said.
“We know that heat and fire weather is worsening with climate change. Extreme rain events are also becoming more intense in some parts of Australia.”
According to the BoM, summer night temperatures across Australia were the fifth warmest on record and, relative to average minimum temperatures, the warmest ever experienced in some inland parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Three towns in WA’s north-west recorded the hottest summer nights on record: 35.8C at Paraburdoo Aero on January 7 (also the hottest minimum temperature nationwide this summer); 32.3C at Rosebourne on 26 December; and 28.9C at Shark Bay on January 21.
Others in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia also recorded their hottest nights ever. The Gluepot reserve, about 270km northeast of Adelaide in SA, recorded 32.6C on January 9. Paterson, NSW, was 28.8C on 22 December. Victoria’s Mount Buller ski slope set a new record with a minimum temperature of 21.2C on January 28.
Zhou said that despite the rain, the lack of rainfall continues in some parts of southern Australia.
Above-average rainfall was likely to continue in northern Australia in the autumn, with drier conditions further south, according to the BoM. Warmer-than-normal days and nights are expected across much of the country, while fire risk has increased in parts of WA, SA, NSW and Victoria.
