While we love a sunny day in Melbourne, the recent bout of warm weather in our city has left us a little bamboozled. If you’ve been feeling like it’s unseasonably warm for this time of year, you’re not alone.
New data from the Bureau of Meteorology has shown that Victoria just had its warmest April ever. This means that in weather records dating back to 1910, the average temperature for April has never been so high. Oh dear.
We’re not talking about a tiny, incremental increase either. The temperature last month was 2.37 degrees Celsius higher than the long-term average.
Melbourne experienced a 2.9 degree increase on the long term average last month, making it the capital city with the second highest temperature increase in the country, with an average temperature of 23.2 degrees. This made it the second warmest April on record for Melbourne. We were definitely scratching our heads when we could go to the beach for a swim on a 30 degree day in the middle of autumn.
It wasn’t just a warm April, it was also a dry one. Across the southern half of Victoria, rainfall levels were either significantly below average or the lowest on record.
Victoria wasn't alone with its warm weather – there was a one degree increase on the long-term average across Australia in April. Every state and territory also saw above-average temperatures last month.
The toasty trend doesn’t seem to be dissipating anytime soon. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast that the next three months will continue to be warmer and drier than usual, particularly in southern Australia.
While it is nice to not have to rug up in our winter woollies just yet, there is an air of concern about the noticeably warmer climate. But one thing remains true – Melbourne’s weather continues to keep us on our toes.
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