Prosper in a dynamic world
Search

Australia has never seen a January like it

Australia just had its third-warmest and ninth-wettest January on record, which is a remarkable combination.

Ordinarily, you would not expect both above-average temperatures and above-average rainfall to go hand in hand. Simply put, that’s because clouds block direct sunlight, preventing warming.

For example, Australia’s hottest January on record fell in a scorching, sunny summer. That was January 2019, when rainfall was significantly below average in all states and territories.

But in January 2024:

• Australia’s national area-averaged mean temperature was 1.54°C above the 1961–1990 average

     • Australia’s area-averaged rainfall total in January was 47.4% above the 1961–1990 average

It’s interesting to note that rainfall and temperatures in January 2024 were not only above average across Australia as a whole, but in all eight states and territories.

That might come as a suprise to residents of Melbourne, where December and January maximum temps were slightly below average as we mentioned in a recent story. https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/when-will-melbourne-have-real-summer/1766019

But as you can can see on the chart below, Victoria’s mean (overall 24-hour) temps were actually slightly above average due to a combination of extreme heat in the state’s northwest and warmer-than-usual minimums across the whole state.

Source: Bom

Just as Melburnians might be surprised by the January temperature data, many West Australians will doubtless be taken aback by the fact it was a wet month nationwide.

If you look at the rainfall chart below, you’ll see that most of the west coast was parched.

Source: BoM 

There were also other parts of the country that had a dry January compared to normal, including parts of central Queensland that missed the action from ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily. https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/extc-kirrily-just-refuses-to-quit/1771881

But Australia is a large country, and when averaged out as a whole, January 2024 was indeed a remarkable month for both warmth and wetness.

To find out more, please visit our website or email us at apac.sales@dtn.com.

Latest news

Satisfy your weather obsession with these news headlines from around the nation, and the world.

How Victoria just had its warmest autumn on record

Victoria just experienced it’s warmest autumn on record, but why? Average temperatures across Victoria were 1.90°C above average throughout autumn 2025, which narrowly exceeded the old record set in 2016. Image: Temperature anomalies in Victoria from 1910 to 2025. Source: BoM. Australia as a whole was 1.41°C above average in autumn 2025, which made it […]

Perth’s wettest day in 11 months as thunderstorms slam western WA businesses

Perth just registered its wettest day since July last year and more rain is in the way for Australia’s west coast in the coming days. The first five months of 2025 were unusually dry in Perth. The city only received 96 mm of its 170 mm average for the period from the start of January to […]

Powerful storms lash New Caledonia and South Pacific

Intense rainfall and thunderstorms impacted New Caledonia early this morning, with more to come for other South Pacific islands to the east. Flooding rainfall and intense thunderstorms in New Caledonia The satellite imagery below shows an area of convergence into a low pressure trough moving over New Caledonia early on Wednesday, June 4. This convergence […]

Big wintry week of rain, snow and frost for Australia’s energy market and hydropower

Rain, storms and winds will move over western WA, while two significant lows and cold fronts will send a deep chill, rain and snow driving energy demand across Tasmania and southeastern mainland Australia, in an unmistakeable sign that winter is now here. Southwest WA Perth appears set for its heaviest rain of 2025 to date […]