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Canberra Today 22°/24° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Warmest winter on record

CANBERRA has recorded its warmest winter on record, with an average temperature of 8 degrees. canberra1

SKY NEWS Senior Meteorologist Tom Saunders says Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne also recorded their warmest winters on record, with all four capital cities recording close to two degrees above their long term average minimum and maximum temperatures.

“Canberra and Melbourne both beat their previous record by only a fraction of a degree with Canberra’s average temperature 8.0°C (previous record 7.8°C in 2009) and Melbourne’s 12.17°C (previous record 12.14°C from 2005),” Mr Saunders says.

“The record warm winter was due to the dominance of high pressure over Australia and the associated reduced number of cold fronts during June and July which prevented polar air pushing north to our shores. Abnormally warm ocean temperatures, lingering from our hottest summer on record, contributed to the heat. The shift to higher pressure, warmer seas and higher atmospheric temperatures are all trends related to climate change.”

Canberra was also wetter than usual, recording 155mm of rain by 9am on the 30th, slightly higher than the average of 128mm and the wettest since 2005. Sydney recorded 364mm of rain, above the average of 310mm but short of the 428mm received in 2011.

In contrast, Brisbane recorded only 98.6mm of rain, making it the driest winter in four years and well below the average of 170.2mm.

Looking to spring, Mr Saunders says most of Australia is likely to remain warm, due mainly to continued warm seas which surround the nation.

CAPITAL CITY

MAX TEMP

MAX ANOMALLY

MIN TEMP

MIN ANOMALLY

Brisbane

22.6°C

+1.5°C

11.9°C

+1.6 °C

Sydney

19.5°C

+2.5°C

10.4°C

+1.6°C

Melbourne

15.9°C

+1.7°C

8.4°C

+1.9°C

Canberra

14.0°C

+1.8°C

1.9°C

+1.3°C

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