Why January became the hottest month on record in Australia

There were record breaking temperatures reached across several states in January, none more punishing than Port Augusta’s 49.5 degrees at the peak of a sweeping South Australian heatwave.

South Australia got so hot a pub in Adelaide was even giving away free beer to cool its patrons down.

So you won’t be surprised to hear January was Australia’s hottest month on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The mean temperature last month, averaged across the country, exceeded 30 degrees for the first time ever for any month in over 100 years of records.

BoM senior climatologist Andrew Watkins said January’s heat was unprecedented.

“We saw heatwave conditions affect large parts of the country through most of the month, with records broken for both duration and also individual daily extremes,” Dr Watkins said in a statement on Thursday.

Victoria’s Swan Hill hit 47.5C – the state’s highest for January, while NSW’s Borrona Downs recorded the all-time highest overnight temperature in Australia at 36.6.

Factors contributing to Australia’s 2019 heatwave

A high pressure system in the Tasman Sea that blocked cold fronts and cooler air from reaching the country’s south, and a delayed monsoon in the north, contributed to the heatwave.

“The warming trend which has seen Australian temperatures increase by more than 1 degree in the last 100 years also contributed to the unusually warm conditions,” Dr Watkins said.

For NSW, ACT, Victoria and NT, it was the warmest January on record, while for the other states it was one of their warmest Januaries.

Perth appeared to be the anomaly, recording its coolest January in over 10 years.

With AAP

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