The Bureau of Meteorology released its climate statement for Australia in 2024 today declaring it was the second warmest on record.

The national average temperature was 1.46 degrees above the long term average.

Most of the country had warmer-than-average conditions throughout the year. This meant we had our warmest spring on record, and winter was our second warmest on record.

Australia's annual rainfall was 28% above average, making 2024 our eighth wettest year on record. At the same time, much of northern Australia and some inland areas had above-average rainfall.

It was much drier than usual in Victoria, parts of South Australia and some parts of the West these drier conditions led to reduced water storage levels in some southern regions. However, Australia's total surface water storage volume was just under 73% at the end of 2024, which was similar to the end of the previous year.

Australia's climate is influenced by global patterns in the oceans and atmosphere. Sea surface temperatures in the Australian region, as well as globally, were the warmest on record in 2024.

Warmer oceans can increase the amount of moisture available for rainfall in our weather systems. Tropical cyclones brought heavy rainfall to northern parts of Australia early in the year, low intensity to severe heatwave conditions affected large parts of Australia during early and late 2024 and frequent, slow-moving high-pressure systems to the south of the mainland also affected temperature and rainfall across the country throughout the year.

Globally, 2024 was the warmest year on record, and global warming continues to influence our climate.