Climate highlights and notable events
Australia
- Wettest May–September on record follows a dry start to the year
- Annual rainfall 17% above average
- Fourth-warmest year on record; mean temperatures 0.87 °C above average
- March, and autumn as a whole, warmest on record for Australia
- Sea surface temperatures warmest on record for the Australian region
- Very strong negative Indian Ocean Dipole follows breakdown of one of the strongest El Niños on record
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Northwest to southeast Australia
- Tropical low brings exceptional late December rainfall to the northwest, Central Australia, and the southeast
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Northern Australia
- Lowest number of tropical cyclones on record for a season (3 during 2015–16, average is 11)
- Unusually wet northern dry season (May–September) in many areas
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Southeastern Australia
- Heatwave affecting much of Australia, especially the southeast, during late February and the first half of March
- East Coast Low in early June caused coastal erosion, with flooding in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania
- Persistent flooding in inland regions of New South Wales and in the north and west of Victoria during September and October
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Southeastern Australia and Queensland
- Drought during the first part of the year in Queensland and southeast Australia
- Severe thunderstorms on 11 November across southeast Australia and southeast Queensland, many reports of golf-ball sized hail
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Great Barrier Reef
- Great Barrier Reef sea surface temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef warmest on record for February, March and April, with severe coral bleaching
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New South Wales
- 2016 the sixth-warmest on record for New South Wales
- Sydney's warmest year on record
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Victoria
- Victoria's fifth-warmest year on record
- January thunderstorms caused flash flooding in Geelong and central northern Victoria
- Spring storms, including 21 November which ignited grassfires across northern Victoria and, combined with high pollen counts, triggered many cases of thunderstorm asthma
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Tasmania
- Warmest year on record for Tasmania, including for Hobart, Launceston and Devonport
- Very large fires in northwest Tasmania during January and February following extended dry period; about 123 800 ha burnt mostly in remote areas
- Flooding in Tasmania during January, June, and each month of spring
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Queensland
- Equal second-warmest year on record for Queensland
- Flooding occurred from June to September in western, central and southern Queensland
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South Australia
- Wettest year on record for parts of South Australia, and fourth-wettest year on record for the State as a whole
- Severe thunderstorms and a tornados caused widespread damage in South Australia during late September
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Western Australia
- Second-warmest year on record for northern half of Western Australia
- Significant January fires at Yarloop and Waroona in southwest Western Australia
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Northern Territory
- Fourth-warmest year on record for the Northern Territory
- 2016 the warmest year on record for Darwin
- Very dry start to year (January–April) in the Top End
Select dots for regional details