Climate summary information for 2024

Australia's climate in 2024

Temperature

• Australia's second-warmest year since national records began in 1910, with the national mean temperature 1.46 °C warmer than the 1961–1990 average.
• The national mean maximum temperature was 1.48 °C above average, the fourth-warmest since national records began in 1910. The national mean minimum temperature was 1.43 °C above average, and the warmest since national records began in 1910.
• Warmth was persistent throughout the year. Nationally, summer 2023–24 was the third-warmest on record, winter was the second-warmest on record and spring was the warmest on record.
• Low-intensity to severe heatwave conditions affected large parts of Australia during early 2024 and from September to December.

Rainfall

• Nationally-averaged rainfall was 28% above the 1961–1990 average at 594.0 mm, making it the eighth-wettest year since national records began in 1900.
• Rainfall was above average for the Northern Territory, northern and inland areas of Western Australia, large parts of Queensland, northern and inland areas of New South Wales and western and north-eastern parts of South Australia.
• Rainfall across northern Australia as a whole (north of 26° S) was 42% above the 1961–1990 average, making it the fifth-wettest year since national records began in 1900 and the wettest since 2011.
• Rainfall was below average for parts of north-west and south-west Western Australia, southern areas of South Australia, most of Victoria, western and southern areas of Tasmania, south-eastern New South Wales and parts of Queensland's central interior and central coast.

Water availability

• Streamflows were above average in northern and parts of eastern Australia, while southern Australia experienced below average streamflows.
• Surface water storage levels declined across southern parts of the country, including in the Murray–Darling Basin, due to dry conditions and low inflows. However, Australia's total surface water storage remained high at the end of the year, at 72.9% of accessible capacity.
• Due to below average rainfall in the southern parts of the country, groundwater levels declined in western Victoria and south-eastern parts of South Australia. Elsewhere in the country, groundwater levels were average to above average.

Oceans and atmosphere

• Average sea surface temperatures for the Australian region were in the range of 0.8 to 1.0 °C above the 1961–1990 average throughout the year.
• Global sea surface temperatures were at record warm levels for each month from January to June. Since July, monthly sea surface temperatures have been slightly cooler than the record levels observed in 2023, though well above all other years.
• Climate indicators of other major global oceanic and atmospheric systems that affected Australia during 2024 include:
  • The 2023–24 El Niño eased in early 2024 with a return to neutral El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions in April. ENSO remained mostly neutral for the remainder of 2024, despite weak La Niña characteristics emerging at times in both oceanic and atmospheric indices.
  • The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) was neutral throughout 2024, though it dropped below the negative IOD threshold for a brief period during October and November.
  • A positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode was active at times during the year, particularly in January, April to June, September and November, with a prolonged negative phase during July and August.