CANBERRA, Australia – Australia recorded its hottest year last year, despite the recent return of the usually cool La Nina climate pattern, the nation’s weather bureau said on Friday.
The wettest than average of 2020 followed Australia’s hottest and driest year in 2019, which came to a catastrophic conclusion with drought-fueled wildfires that killed at least 33 people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. and destroyed 19 million hectares (47 million acres).
Globally, 2020 will probably be recognized as the third hottest in the world, after calculating climate data in December, said Andrew Watkins, head of climate operations at the Bureau of Meteorology.
La Nina, the coldest flipside of the best-known El Nino, was declared in the Pacific Ocean in September. In Nina it occurs when the equatorial winds become stronger, changing the currents on the ocean surface and bringing deeper colder waters. Waikins said the La Nina cycle usually sets in between March and May, but the weather did not affect Australia’s temperatures until October.
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“You could say that the fourth warmest year on record is our warmest year at La Nina,” Watkins said.
“But this year started very hot and dry and ended more like La Nina. So it is debatable if you would say that he was really influenced enough to expect us to be colder, ”he added.
The hottest temperature in Australia for 2020 was 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded at the height of the Penrith fire emergency in New South Wales on January 4. It was the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Sydney area.
Australia’s other best years were 2013 and 2005.
Australia’s daily temperature was 1.15 degrees Celsius (2.07 degrees Fahrenheit) above average last year, and rainfall was 4% above average, despite a dry start to the year.