Australia’s Scorching Summer: Battling Heatwaves, Destructive Fires, Torrential Rains, and Fish Kills

Climate reports show that 2024 is expected to be the hottest year globally. January 2025 has already been marked as the warmest January ever recorded. In Australia, January 2025 was the second warmest since records began in 1910, with an average temperature 2.15 degrees above the historical average. This comes after December 2024, which was the third warmest December, at 1.88 degrees above average.

The highest recorded daytime temperature this summer reached a scorching 49.3 degrees at Geraldton Airport, Western Australia, on January 20. Even at night, temperatures soared, hitting 34.8 degrees at Leinster Aero on February 9.

Weather patterns varied across Australia this summer. Parts of the east and north-west experienced more rain than usual, while southern and central regions saw drier conditions, particularly in New South Wales (NSW), the Northern Territory, and much of Victoria. However, many places reported near-average summer rainfall.

In a record-breaking event, the monsoon rains did not reach Darwin until February 7, the latest date recorded since tracking began. This beats the previous record from January 25, 1973. Nonetheless, Queensland established a monsoon trough at the end of January, leading to heavy rains. Between Townsville and Ingham, some areas saw their highest monthly rainfall for February, accumulating up to 1.5 meters within just three days, causing severe flooding.

February 3 was the wettest day of the season as Paluma Ivy Cottage in Queensland recorded an astonishing 745.2mm of rain in just one day.

This season has also seen seven tropical cyclones in the region, with Tropical Cyclone Zelia being the first to impact the Australian mainland on February 14, bringing heavy rain to the Pilbara region of WA. Extreme weather has not stopped there; it has brought bushfires to Victoria and Tasmania and prompted marine heatwaves that led to coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef. In addition, around 30,000 fish died off the coast of the Pilbara, and there were mass mortalities in salmon farms in Tasmania.

The Climate Council offers a heat map tool that illustrates how different electorates in Australia might be affected by climate change, projecting conditions for a future where global warming reaches 4.4 degrees by 2100. For instance, the electorate of Parkes in NSW may face 120 days over 35 degrees annually by 2090, a significant jump from the current average of 55 days. In the north shore of Sydney, the Bradfield electorate could increase from five hot days to 21.

In Victoria, the Mallee electorate would see hot days rise from 25 to 58 by 2090. Similarly, the Casey electorate could go from three hot days to 14, while Goldstein would jump from seven to 20. Queensland’s Kennedy electorate is projected to face the most, with an increase from 110 days above 35 degrees to 214 days. Meanwhile, Brisbane might experience an increase from two hot days to 24, with nights over 25 degrees rising from one to 33.