Australia sees hottest winter temperature on record, a brutal 107 degrees

Australia sees hottest winter temperature on record, a brutal 107 degrees
Record-setting temperatures — more typical of summer — are affecting large parts of the country.


Australia heat on Monday as seen by the European weather model. (weatherbell.com)

By Ian Livingston
August 26, 2024 at 1:46 p.m. EDT

It’s the back half of winter in Australia, but blistering heat more typical of summer has overtaken large parts of the country. The southern hemisphere continent observed its highest wintertime temperature ever observed Monday, soaring to 107 degrees (41.6 Celsius) in Yampi Sound on its desolate northwest coast.

The historic temperature came amid a prolonged and extensive winter heat wave which has produced records in both the north and south. Southern Australia endured its highest winter maximum temperature (101.3 degrees or 38.5 C) and its warmest overnight low (74.8 degrees or 23.8 C) over the weekend.

Multiple waves of abnormally warm weather have swept across Australia this month. During the most recent, daily average temperatures climbed to 25 degrees (14 Celsius) above normal in southeast Australia, while most other spots were at least 10 degrees (5 C) warmer than typical.

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By Ian Livingston
Ian Livingston is a forecaster/photographer and information lead for the Capital Weather Gang. By day, Ian is a defense and national security researcher at a D.C. think tank. Twitter