Western Australia endured its hottest summer on record, according to the state weather bureau.
At 29.6°C, temperatures were 0.2°C warmer than the previous record, set in 1997-1998. Western Australia has been keeping state-wide temperature data since 1950.
Perth, the state’s capital, had its driest summer since record-keeping began in 1897. Only 0.2 millimeters of rain fell in between December and the end of February. Perth’s average maximum summer temperature was 31.8°C, 1.5°C above normal.
 Surface Temperature Analysis courtesy of NASA GISS. |
Parts of Australia has been in the midst of a ten-year drought that have left some of the country’s rivers running dry and major agricultural areas parched. Wildfires have ravaged the parts of nation, including devastating conflagrations which killed 173 and destroyed more than 2000 homes in February 2009.