Australia records its 8th warmest year as climate change lifts temperatures

A view of cracked earth due to drought at a small water reservoir in Armidale in rural Australia September 24, 2019. Picture taken September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Barrett/File Photo

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia experienced its eighth-warmest year in 2023, with the influence of climate change pushing average temperatures almost 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 average, the weather bureau said on Thursday.

Last year's extreme weather swings took Australia from widespread flooding and the coolest January since 2002 through the hottest southern hemisphere winter and early spring and driest three months on record to end with heavy rainfall as summer got underway.