Australia records warmest winter caused by global heating and sunny conditions

Australia’s winter of 2023 was the warmest since official records began in 1910, with average daily temperatures 1.53C above the long-term average.

According to data from the Bureau of Meteorology released on Friday, the 2023 winter beat the previous record of 1.46C above the average set in 1996.

Every winter since 2012 has been warmer than the 30-year average calculated from 1961 to 1990.

Global heating and weather conditions that delivered sunny days were behind the record, scientists said.

For maximum temperatures, the 2023 winter was 1.85C above average, ranking second behind the mark of 1.94C set in 2017.

The Australian winter is June, July and August. Over the past two decades, only the winters of 2012 and 2007 have been below average for temperatures.

The eastern region of the continent was particularly hot this year with the temperature 2.03C above average – easily beating the previous record of 1.66C set in 2013.

Queensland, Tasmania and New South Wales all experienced their hottest winters on record, with all other states and territories seeing temperatures in the top 10…