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Australia Swelters and Drowns in Extreme Summer
3 Mar
Summary
- The 2025-26 summer was Australia's wettest in nearly a decade.
- It was also the country's eighth-hottest summer on record.
- South Australia recorded 50C temperatures during a severe heatwave.
The 2025-26 summer brought extreme weather swings across Australia, culminating in the wettest season nationwide in nearly a decade. Rainfall was 32% above the average, making it the rainiest summer since 2016-17. Simultaneously, the season ranked as Australia's eighth-hottest on record, with temperatures 1.1C higher than the 1961-1990 average.
A particularly severe heatwave in late January saw 62 stations record their highest-ever daily maximum temperatures. South Australia, which experienced its fourth-hottest summer, recorded 50C on two separate days in January. This heat was interspersed with intense rainfall, especially concentrated in February for many regions, including South Australia which saw its second-wettest February on record.
While most of the country experienced above-average rainfall, Tasmania was an exception, recording 17% less rain than usual. Climate scientists note that the pattern of extreme heatwaves and fires followed by intense rain and floods is consistent with a warming planet, predicting such events will become more severe. Nighttime temperatures also reached record highs in several inland areas, including parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
