Bureau of Meteorology releases official Climate Summary for 2012
28/02/2013
The Annual Climate Summary for 2012 shows a year of contrasts, with wetter and cooler La Niña conditions in the first half of the year and drier and warmer conditions in the second half.
An official record of Australia’s weather and climate, the Annual Climate Summary is a more comprehensive record following on from preliminary data released earlier in the year.
Nationally, the year played out to see slightly above average temperatures (up by 0.11°C), and despite La Niña bringing above average rainfall in early 2012, annual nationally-averaged rainfall was also slightly above the long-term average (up by 13mm).
2012 delivered a number of events, which pushed the boundaries of previous records:
• Extreme rainfall in the southeast in the first quarter saw the third wettest March on record for Australia, and second wettest for New South Wales.
• New South Wales recorded its equal wettest week on record [27 February to 3 March], after a slow moving rain-band delivered steady rainfall across Australia's southeast, and a statewide average of 123.9mm.
• Major flooding was experienced in southeast Victoria in early June, the impact of an East Coast Low.
• Further south Tasmania was warmer, recording the second-warmest annual average minimum temperatures on record.
• The South Australian wet season was out of character; the fifth driest April to November on record.
• In the Northern Territory, Alice Springs had its longest run of dry days on record - 157 consecutive days without rain - breaking the previous record by 10 days, ending with 3mm of rain 29 September.
• Western Australia experienced its driest July on record in the southwest, while the northwest was
hit by two tropical cyclones - Heidi made landfall near Port Hedland on 12 January, and Lua near Pardoo on 17 March. Both systems brought heavy rainfall and inland flooding, before eventually decaying.
• A cold outbreak in the southeast saw unseasonal snowfalls in October, followed by an early season heatwave, which resulted in Victoria's hottest November day on record.
• The oceans surrounding Australia, which are a major driver of our weather and climate, were the equal sixth-warmest since records began in 1910.
• While both 2011 and 2012 were cooler than recent years, the last decade (2003-2012) was the fifth-warmest on record. The World Meteorological Organization has ranked 2012 as the ninth-warmest year on record globally.
Go to the Annual Climate Summary 2012 for the accompanying video.
