Australia recorded its second hottest September on record last month, driven by global heating and a strengthening El Niño. This combination led to a series of unprecedented heat records across the country.
Record-Breaking Temperatures
According to data from the Bureau of Meteorology, minimum night-time temperatures were the highest for any September since records began in 1910. Average temperatures ranked among the top five warmest Septembers for every state, with the Northern Territory experiencing its sixth hottest September.
In Kosciuszko National Park, alpine areas also faced record-breaking heat, with snow depth recorded at zero for the first time since monitoring began in 1954.
““There’s only one clear driver of this and that’s climate change,” said Dr. Linden Ashcroft, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne. “This is also a clear example of seasonal creep where winter is ending earlier and spring is starting sooner.”
Temperature Averages
The average temperatures for September were 2.71°C above the long-term average from 1961 to 1990. Minimum temperatures were 2.52°C above average, just surpassing the previous record of 2.51°C set in 2023. Notably, Australia has not experienced a September with below-average mean temperatures since 2004.
