Australia swelters through warmest autumn on record

A graphic shows Australia’s warmest autumn on
record with record temperatures throughout
much of eastern and northern Australia.

After officially sweltering through the warmest autumn on record, Australians can expect a return to normal chilly weather this winter.

The mean temperature between March and the end of May hit a fresh high of 23.86C, with records set in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory.

Thermometers hovered 1.86C above average, the biggest climb above an average seasonal temperature since spring 2014.

Some of the hottest temperatures were recorded during the prolonged heatwave in March, with Mardie in Western Australia’s north hitting 47C, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Karl Braganza, the bureau’s manager of climate monitoring, said a strong El Niño combined with global warming to push thermometers to their highest levels for autumn since records began in 1910.

Read The Guardian story - “Australia records warmest autumn ever.”