It’s been an incredibly hot summer for Australia and the latest stats out prove just how warm it has been.

Overall, Australia’s average summer temperature came in at 28.6 degrees Celsius.

Hobart broke an all time high record with temperatures in the low forties as did Adelaide and other cities were very close to nearing record temperatures.

Not only was January the hottest month of all but December and January were hot on the heels as well.
Almost everywhere across Australia felt the heat and there’s a chance in forty years from now that this could become the norm if weather patterns continue as they are with Climate Change.

The flood disasters may give the impression that it has been not only a hot, but a wet summer, but the average national summer rainfall was at a nine-year low.

The areas that have had above average rainfall only across two areas which is the east coast and adjacent ranges, from Mackay southwards in Queensland and most of coastal New South Wales, and also the western half of Western Australia. Those two regions had a wet summer but almost everywhere else it was a dry summer.

Normally, a hot summer like the one just gone would be accompanied by hotter than normal temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean – an El Nino summer, in other words but not this one.

Over the years very hot summers saw six of the eight exceedingly hot summers on record had occurred during El Nino years.

The fact that there’s been no El Nino makes this summer exceptional and shows potential signs of what could happen more frequently in the future.

New Zealand also saw high to very high temperatures but much drier conditions this summer overall however record high temperatures were exceptional rather than the norm.

*WeatherWatch.co.nz