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Spring roars in with near-record temperatures across Victoria
🇦🇺 Australia /Environment & Climate

Spring roars in with near-record temperatures across Victoria

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Victoria recorded an unusually warm start to spring after one of Australia's warmest winters on record.
  • Bairnsdale reached 24.1C, while Melbourne approached 22C, as forecasters warned of hotter, drier conditions and elevated bushfire risks.
  • Farmers welcomed the wet winter and strong crop prospects but are preparing for a potentially dry spring influenced by El Niño.

Victoria has begun spring with temperatures more than 6 degrees above average in parts of the state, just months after a record-breaking winter.

These are temperatures we don't see very often.

— Chris KentBureau of Meteorology forecaster describing Victoria's unusually warm start to spring.

Bairnsdale in East Gippsland reached 24.1C, while Melbourne's September average maximum is 17.3C and temperatures there approached 22C. East Gippsland was even hotter at lunchtime than Mildura, a semi-arid city in the state's north-west.

“These are temperatures we don't see very often,” Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Chris Kent told the Victorian Country Hour. Fire authorities have warned that East Gippsland and parts of south-west Victoria face elevated bushfire risks from October.

People are taking advantage right now of really good conditions and that's what farmers need to do, where they see an opportunity to make a dollar, get out there and have a crack.

— Jane CarneyA north-east Victorian cattle breeder explaining how farmers are using favorable conditions.

The warm, wet winter has also brought opportunities for farmers. Victoria planted its largest-ever winter crop, with production forecast to rise 12 percent, and ABARES expects bumper grain harvests in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Farmers are making hay while conditions remain favorable, but they are also planning for a dry turn in the season. “But I'm fully aware the season could turn off and go quite badly for us very quickly,” north-east Victorian cattle breeder Jane Carney said.

But I'm fully aware the season could turn off and go quite badly for us very quickly.

— Jane CarneyCarney's warning that the season could rapidly become dry and difficult.

The Bureau of Meteorology said severe weather would become more common as spring progressed. A firmly established El Niño pattern could bring warmer and drier conditions across much of Australia, while Climate Council representative Andrew Watkins warned that fossil fuel emissions, El Niño and climate change could combine to produce longer dry periods interrupted by intense rain.

We also know that it will bring even longer periods of dry weather, abruptly ended or interspersed with intense periods of wet.

— Andrew WatkinsClimate Council representative discussing the combined effects of El Niño and climate change.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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