The most recent winter in Australia was the warmest on record.
According to Bureau of Meteorology data, this winter’s mean temperature nationwide was 1.53 degrees Celsius higher than the long-term average and the highest since national records were first kept in 1910.
1.46 Celsius was the previous high, recorded in 1996.
The amount is determined by averaging the minimum and highest temperatures recorded at 112 weather stations that are dispersed as evenly as possible throughout Australia.
The unseasonably warm weather continues the recent trend of record-high temperatures around the world and brings Australia’s streak of above-normal winters to 11 straight years; the last winter that was cooler than average was in 2012.
The country-wide above-average maximum temperatures and generally mild minimum temperatures, with the exception of the western portion of Western Australia, were the cause of the record.
Victoria and South Australia saw the second warmest winter on record, while New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania experienced the warmest winter ever.
Where this winter was up to 3C above average, southern Queensland showed the greatest divergence from the norm.
Absence of cold weather resulted in lower-than-average frost levels and almost record-low snowfalls.
While the Blue Mountains west of Sydney saw its first winter without a single snowfall this century, several alpine locations recorded their lowest snow depth in 50 years.
Even though the season produced unusually warm temperatures, the nation’s average rainfall was just 4.2% below the long-term average.
The average rainfall across the country was normal, but there were variations, including the lowest totals ever recorded close to the NSW South Coast and in a tiny area north of Perth.
Due to an unusual dry season cloudband in late June and early July, winter rain was well above average throughout much of northern Australia.
