CANBERRA, Australia – Australia hit its fourth warmest year on record last year, despite the recent return of the usually cool La Nina climate pattern, the country’s weather bureau said on Friday.
The wetter than average 2020 followed Australia’s hottest and driest year in 2019, which came to a catastrophic conclusion with wildfires fueled by drought that killed at least 33 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and destroyed 19 million acres (47 million acres). destroyed.
Globally, 2020 is likely to be recognized as the world’s third most popular on record once the climate data for December are calculated, said Andrew Watkins, head of climate operations at the Bureau of Meteorology.
La Nina, the cool dome of the better-known El Nino, was declared in the Pacific in September. La Nina occurs when equatorial trade winds become stronger, changing ocean surface currents and absorbing cooler deep water. Waikins said the La Nina cycle usually starts between March and May, but the weather pattern only had an effect on Australia’s temperature in October.
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“You could say the fourth warmest year on record is our warmest La Nina year,” Watkins said.
‘But this year started very hot and dry and ended more like La Nina. It is therefore doubtful whether you would say that for enough of the year it has really been influenced to expect it to be cooler, ‘he added.
The warmest temperature in Australia for 2020 was 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded on January 4 during the wildfire in Penrith in the state of New South Wales. It was the warmest temperature ever recorded in the Sydney area.
Australia’s other hottest years were 2013 and 2005.
Australia’s daily temperature was 1.15 degrees Celsius (2.07 degrees Fahrenheit) above average last year and rainfall was 4 percent above average despite an extreme start to the year.