Extreme heat seems to have become the new norm for Australia. According to meteorologists, record temperature has been observed in Australia for the fourth consecutive month.
The average day and night temperatures in the first quarter of the year was about a degree above normal, a rare event. The month of March also witnessed temperatures above normal by almost 2 degrees Celcius, wherein the hottest pockets were western and northwestern parts of the country.
Persistently above normal temperature for Australia is very unusual. This time the moisture content also remained very low over the hot pockets. In the absence of any prolonged or significant weather activity, heatwave conditions persisted for a longer period. Moreover, the El Nino which has been evolving has also impacted the weather of Australia.
However, we cannot consider hot weather phenomena to remain persistent year after year. This is because there are some occasions when temperature remains below normal. If we look at the temperatures in the last decade, it has been noticed that the frequency of record warm months and seasons has gone up substantially due to global warming.
January was Australia’s hottest month ever, with average temperature across the continent exceeding 30 degrees Celsius for the first time.
On the other hand, the real stand out has been Cyclone Trevor which gave heavy rain in Cape York, Gulf of Carpentaria and eventually in southern inland of Queensland.
Experts have to say that within three months not many areas show more than a 60% of above and below average rainfall. Looks like the warm pattern for temperatures would continue across the continent.
Image Credit: Hawaii Public Radio
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