This summer ricocheted from extremely hot to intensely wet across parts of the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with South Australia experiencing some of the season’s most acute swings.
Nationwide, the 2025-26 season was the wettest in nearly a decade, with rainfall 32% higher than average across the country, according to the bureau’s summary, the rainiest since 2016-17.
It was also Australia’s eighth-hottest summer on record, 1.1C above the 1961-1990 average.
Only one summer in the 20th century was hotter, said Qian Zhou, a climatologist at the bureau. That was in 1997-98, a season that was 1.11C hotter than average.
Apart from that year, nine of the ten hottest summers have occurred since 2012-13.
“The heatwave event in late January was particularly severe, with 62 stations recording their highest-ever daily maximum temperature between 26 and 31 January,” the BoM summary said.
The highest maximum temperatures recorded were both in South Australia – which experienced its fourth-hottest summer – with 50C recorded at Andamooka on 29 January and at Port Augusta on 30 January.
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January’s heat was followed by February’s rain.
“The rainfall during the summer has been heavily concentrated in February for much of the country, especially in South Australia,” Zhou said. Several rain-producing weather systems contributed to the result, she said, especially last week’s lingering tropical low.
South Australia’s February rain was 356% above average, Zhou said – the state’s second-wettest after 2011. Large parts of the state’s north-east had their highest-ever February rainfall following a very dry January.
February rainfall was higher than average across all states and territories, apart from Tasmania, which was 17% lower than usual.
“The switching between dry and wet conditions was quite remarkable,” said Associate Prof Andrew King, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne, with heatwaves and fires followed by rain and floods.
Australia’s summers are always severe weather seasons, he said, “and we should be expecting some of these types of extreme weather events to get worse as we continue to warm the planet”.
“We know that heat and fire weather is getting worse with climate change. And in some parts of Australia, extreme rain events are getting more intense as well.”
Summer nighttime temperatures across Australia were the fifth-warmest on record, according to the BoM, and the hottest ever experienced in some inland areas of Western Australia and Northern Territory, based on average minimum temperatures.
Three towns in WA’s north-west recorded their hottest summer nights on record: 35.8C at Paraburdoo Aero on 7 January (also the hottest minimum temperature nationwide this summer); 32.3C at Rosebourne on 26 December; and 28.9C at Shark Bay on 21 January.
Others across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia also recorded their hottest-ever nights. Gluepot reserve, about 270km north-east of Adelaide in SA, recorded 32.6C on 9 January. Paterson, NSW was 28.8C on 22 December. Mount Buller ski field, in Victoria, set a new record minimum of 21.2C on 28 January.
Despite the rain, some areas in southern Australia continued to suffer from rainfall deficiencies, Zhou said.
Above-average rain was likely to continue during autumn for northern Australia, with drier conditions in the south, according to the BoM. Warmer-than-usual days and nights were expected for most of the country, alongside an increased fire risk for parts of WA, SA, NSW and Victoria.
