With El Nino Just Getting Going, Australia Has Already Crushed Temp Records Through June
Australia smashed its temperature record in the year to the end of June, beating a high set during the most recent El Nino weather event in the Pacific.
Buried in the Bureau of Meteorology's monthly report on national conditions, the agency noted the 12-month mean temperature was a "solid highest-on-record" result.
In fact, mean temperatures were a full 1.08 degrees above the long-term average, smashing the previous record July-June anomaly by 0.18 degrees. The previous record was set in the 12 months to June 2010 – an El Nino period.
Almost the whole country has been warmer than average. Photo: BoM
“The July-June year anomaly can be interesting as it provides a way of examining conditions across the warm season as a whole, which can capture the influence of signals such as El Niño and La Niña,” the bureau said. That influence may continue, with the bureau also reporting that fresh signs of an El Nino have been identified in the Pacific during the past fortnight. During El Nino years, much of Australia tends to cop warmer and drier than usual weather, making active bushfire seasons and droughts more likely.
EDIT
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/el-ninolike-conditions-kick-with-annual-temperature-record-smashed-20140702-zssez.html
