Sydney Records Hottest June Since Weather Records Began

Sydney has recorded its hottest June since official temperature records began in 1859, with the Bureau of Meteorology confirming the city’s average temperature reached 16.1C during the winter month.

The new record surpassed the previous June mean temperature record of 15.7C, set in 1991. The Bureau of Meteorology said the result was based on the average temperature across all days in the month.

Sydney experienced 15 consecutive days with maximum temperatures of at least 20C between 7 and 21 June, exceeding the previous June record of nine consecutive days set in 1919.

Climate scientist Professor Andy Pitman said the record was consistent with long-term warming trends.

“It’s got the signature of global warming all over it,” Professor Pitman said.

He said warmer conditions during winter could have impacts beyond the immediate temperatures, including effects on soil moisture and seasonal fire conditions.

“The big issue here is not that lots of people in Sydney are enjoying a warm winter,” Professor Pitman said. “It’s downstream in spring and summer, when everything is drier than it should have been.”

Researchers also identified unusually warm ocean temperatures as a contributing factor to the conditions experienced across Sydney.

Professor Matthew England, an oceanographer at UNSW, said warmer ocean temperatures off the NSW coast had contributed to the winter warmth.

“Those very warm oceans off Sydney would be a significant contributor to the record warmth we’ve had this winter,” Professor England said.

He explained that normally colder southerly winds would bring cooler conditions to the coast, but warmer waters in the Tasman Sea reduced the cooling effect of those air flows.

The warm conditions extended across greater Sydney, with weather stations recording either their highest average maximum temperatures on record or their highest levels in at least 20 years.

The Bureau of Meteorology has continued to monitor broader climate patterns, including the influence of a developing El Niño event and changing ocean temperatures.