Greater Sydney hit with record Autumn temperatures

01.06.18 By
This content is more than 5 years old

PARTS of Greater Sydney have experienced their hottest autumn on record for maximum temperatures, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

Climate Council Acting CEO Dr Martin Rice said the new BOM data shows parts of Greater Sydney saw temperatures hit 25 degrees or more for an astounding 49 days throughout autumn.

“Unusually warm autumn temperatures have seen records broken across many parts of Sydney this season, with Badgerys Creek recording its hottest day on March 18, as the area reached a scorching 40 degrees,” he said.

“Autumn rainfall totals for the Greater Sydney region were also below average, with May being particuarly dry.”

The Bureau of Meteorology’s ‘Seasonal Climate Summary for Greater Sydney’ shows the mean daily maximum temperature for Sydney (Observatory Hill) was 24.9 °C, which is 2.7 °C above the long-term average of 22.2 °C, and the warmest autumn in its 160 years of records.

The climate summary also highlights a number of Sydney sites that broke previous mean temperature records set in 2016, including Bankstown Airport, Parramatta North, Richmond, Canterbury and Horsley Park.

“In April alone, we saw records tumble across the nation, with South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory recording temperatures as high as 38 degrees in what was an unusually warm month.”

“Worsening climate change is fuelling extreme weather events across Australia, including more severe and frequent heatwaves and soaring temperatures, along with the warmer conditions we are seeing during the cooler months.”

Dr Rice said the window of opportunity to tackle climate change is rapidly closing.

“Australia must ramp up its transition to clean, reliable and affordable renewable energy and storage technology, while moving away from ageing, inefficient and polluting fossil fuels in order to effectively tackle climate change.

“The Federal Government must implement strong and credible climate and energy policy in order to protect Australians from worsening extreme weather events in the future.”

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. We provide authoritative, expert and evidence-based advice on climate change to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

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