Australia-wide, average temperature for the 12 months to 30 June: 22.68°C, 0.87°C above long term average

First 5 of 5 paragraphs shown Only twice previously has the Australia-wide average been higher, in 1997-98 and 2005-06.
Records in WA: The record 12-month temperatures in Western Australia are consistent with the long-term warming trend in Australian and global temperatures. The state's annual average temperature has warmed by approximately 0.7°C since 1950.
2009 calendar year was second warmest year for Australia: Data collected by the Bureau of Meteorology indicate that Australia’s annual mean temperature for 2009 was 0.90°C above the 1961-90 average, making it the nation’s second warmest year since high-quality records began in 1910. High temperatures were especially notable in the southeast during the second half of the year, with Australia, Victoria, South Australia and NSW all recording their warmest July-December periods on record.
Every decade gets warmer: 2009 ended Australia’s warmest decade on record, with a decadal mean temperature anomaly of +0.48°C (above the 1961-90 average). In Australia, each decade since the 1940s has been warmer than the preceding decade. In contrast, decadal temperature variations during the first few decades of Australia’s climate record do not display any specific trend. This suggests an apparent shift in Australia’s climate from one characterised by natural variability to one increasingly characterised by a trend to warmer temperatures.
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