Another burst of record-challenging early-season heat will sweep through Sydney in the opening days of October, with temperatures tipped to reach the high thirties in some suburbs on Sunday. A large mass of hot air that is currently building over central and western Australia will drift towards Australia’s east coast from this weekend, ahead […]
A positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event is gaining strength to the northwest of Australia, increasing the risk of hot and dry weather and fires in the coming months. What is the IOD? The IOD is an index that measures the difference in sea surface temperature anomalies between the western and eastern sides of the […]
Worst Floods in 24 Years Hit Queenstown as Rain Sweeps North Queenstown, a popular town on New Zealand’s South Island, faced a drenching last week, leading to the swift evacuation of hundreds as waters rapidly rose. A slow-moving low-pressure system lingered over the South Island on Thursday and Friday causing a multi-day deluge in the […]
Hailstorms are one of Australia’s most costly natural disasters. New research suggests that they are becoming more frequent in some of Australia’s cities. What is hail? Hailstones are made of layers of ice which form in thunderstorm updraughts. Hailstones grow larger by colliding with other rain droplets and ice particles in the updraft, until they […]
Spring has kicked off with a sweltering heatwave in Australia, with the mercury soaring well above average in many states and territories this week. So, is this abnormal early-season heatwave a sign of what’s to come this summer? What is a heatwave? In Australia, a heatwave is defined as three or more days of unusually high […]
The heatwave continues in New South Wales, with summer-like temperatures and summer-like fire danger. On Thursday morning, there were 68 bushfires burning, 17 of them uncontained, as dangerous winds pick up strength ahead of a southerly change due later on Wednesday. The NSW Rural Fire Service has declared a total fire ban in three regions: […]
The Bureau of Meteorology has today declared the arrival of El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a climate driver double-up that significantly increases the likelihood of unusually warm and dry weather across large areas of Australia in the second half of 2023. The Bureau made the El Niño and positive IOD declarations […]
Scientists are developing a new way to classify El Niño in a warming climate as rising ocean temperatures make existing methods less effective. This research, led by a team of international scientists, may even shed light on why the atmosphere has struggled to respond to this year’s developing El Niño. Warm, warm water in […]
For Sydney residents, the smell and sight was eerily reminiscent of late 2019 when Black Summer bushfires encircled the city. The smoke caused minor disruptions at Sydney Airport Monday morning as the haze dropped visibility to 8300 metres. Fortunately, the thick smoke haze which descended upon the city overnight was from hazard reduction burns in […]
Australian ports and marine pilots can expect a season of shifting wind and swell patterns through winter and spring 2026, as a developing El Niño brings the likelihood of drier conditions and more variable operating windows across the country’s coastline. Will El Niño develop in 2026? There are clear signs that an El Niño pattern is becoming […]
Bushfire risk doesn’t usually make headlines in June, but AFAC’s winter seasonal outlook is putting mining and resources operators on alert from the Kimberley to the NSW. Australia’s official seasonal bushfire outlook for winter 2026 was released by AFAC on Thursday, May 28. The outlook predicts increased fire risk across the northern parts of the Great Sandy Desert and surrounds […]
In mid-May 2026, DTN APAC meteorologists flagged a strengthening Southern Ocean pattern in model guidance, signalling an extended run of record-challenging wind conditions across the NEM. Nearly three weeks later, NEM wind generation climbed from around 1.5GW to more than 9GW, supplying roughly one-third of the grid and coming within 1GW of the all-time generation record. The event highlighted […]
The Indian Southwest Monsoon will reach India in the next two weeks, but a developing El Niño could signal a drier than normal monsoon for businesses and major industries across the country. Southwest monsoon onset over southern India in the next two weeks The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is responsible for tracking the advance and […]
