Australia recorded its second hottest September on record last month, with global warming and a strengthening El Niño driving a string of heat records across the continent.
Bureau of Meteorology data showed the minimum night‑time temperatures were the hottest for any September since records began in 1910, and average temperatures ranked in the top five warmest for every state and the sixth hottest for the Northern Territory. Alpine areas also broke records, with snow depth falling to zero in Kosciuszko National Park for the first time in a September since 1954.
“There’s only one clear driver of this and that’s climate change,” said Dr Linden Ashcroft, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne. “This is also a clear example of seasonal creep where winter is ending earlier and spring is starting sooner.”
Across the country, September averages were 2.71 °C above the long‑term 1961‑1990 baseline, with minimum temperatures 2.52 °C above average, just surpassing the previous record of 2.51 °C set in 2023. No September has had below‑average mean temperatures in Australia since 2004. Global heating has raised the continent by more than 1.5 °C since 1910. All states and territories, except Western Australia, experienced below‑average rainfall; Western Australia had its second wettest September on record.
Dr Simon Grainger, a senior climatologist at the bureau, noted persistent high‑pressure systems over south‑east Australia kept days warm and dry, making September the fourth driest on record for New South Wales and the sixth driest for Victoria. The still‑intensifying El Niño, forecast to be the strongest ever recorded, likely contributed to the heat and rainfall patterns observed.
Alpine weather stations recorded additional milestones: at Spencers Creek in Kosciuszko, snow depth fell to zero during September for the first time since 1954; at Thredbo the average night‑time temperature rose 0.1 °C above freezing, and the town recorded its hottest September day at 16 °C, about 1 °C above the 2001 record. In Victoria’s alpine regions, Mount Buller, Falls Creek and Mount Hotham all logged the highest maximum temperatures on record for the month.
