Australia’s 2024–2025 summer was marked by unprecedented climate extremes, including record-breaking heatwaves, devastating bushfires in Victoria and Tasmania, torrential rain and flooding in Queensland, and widespread marine heatwaves that led to coral bleaching and mass fish deaths. Every state and territory recorded above-average daytime and night-time temperatures, with parts of Western and central Australia experiencing their hottest summer on record.

January was the second-warmest ever for Australia, following the third-warmest December, and the country also recorded its hottest summer temperature — 49.3°C at Geraldton Airport in Western Australia. The monsoon arrived in Darwin later than ever before, while parts of Queensland received up to 1.5 metres of rain in just three days, causing severe flooding. Seven tropical cyclones impacted the region, and extreme marine heat caused mass mortality events in both wild and farmed fish.

With hotter-than-average conditions expected to continue into autumn, climate scientists and the Bureau of Meteorology warn these events highlight the growing risks of a warming climate. A new Climate Council heat map also projects dramatic increases in dangerously hot days across Australian electorates by 2090 under a high-emissions scenario.

The full Sydney Morning Herald article is available here: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/heatwaves-fires-torrential-rain-fish-kills-australia-s-summer-of-climate-extremes-20250225-p5ley1.html