The weather bureau says last month’s sweltering conditions sent records tumbling in many South Australian regions.

With an average maximum temperature of 34.6 degrees and five days in a row above 40 degrees, it was the hottest October in the outback town of Marree in 73 years. Ceduna broke a 72-year top October temperature. 

All major towns in the Riverland were at least three degrees above the October average, with Renmark averaging 27.8 degrees.

Mount Gambier was cooler than most of the state but still recorded its hottest October average in 71 years. 

Climatologist Darren Ray said cool ocean temperatures and strong high pressure systems caused the high temperatures.

“October this year was [the] hottest and driest on record for South Australia so it was a pretty significant month,” he said.

“Daytime temperatures averaged about 4.1 degrees above average and night-time temperatures about a degree above average.”

He said the bureau’s seasonal outlook showed the state was heading for a particularly long, hot summer.

“It’s pretty clear that we’ll being seeing warmer conditions and that does increase the risk of heatwaves occurring and does increase bushfire risks as well,” he said.

– Weatherzone/ABC