Heatwave to continue
\nThe two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, recorded their warmest average, low and high temperatures for January
\nNEWS DESK
\nMELBOURNE
\nAustralia endured its hottest month on record in January, with sweltering conditions expected to persist through April, the country\u2019s weather bureau said on Friday.
\nThe heatwave, which saw temperatures above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days straight in some areas, was mainly due to a high pressure system off the southeast coast that blocked cooler air from coming in, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
\nA delayed monsoon also kept cooler, moist air coming in from the north, and a warming trend that has pushed Australian temperatures up by more than 1C in the last 100 years also contributed to the heat, said Andrew Watkins, a senior climatologist at the bureau.
\nScorching weather last month triggered power outages in some areas and sent electricity prices soaring, while bushfires have destroyed homes in the southern island state of Tasmania.
\n\u201cFor maximum temperatures, for minimum temperatures and for mean temperatures, it\u2019s not only been our hottest January on record, it\u2019s actually been our hottest month on record, and those records go back to 1910,\u201d Watkins said in a video on the bureau\u2019s website.
\n\u201cOdds are favoring that heat continuing at least through February into March and April,\u201d he said.
\nThe mean temperature for January across the country exceeded 30C, the bureau said.
\nThe two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, recorded their warmest average, low and high temperatures for January.
\nAt the same time, New South Wales suffered one of the driest Januarys on record, while Victoria had less than 20 percent of its average January rainfall.
\nTasmania, which depends on hydropower, experienced its driest January on record.
\nWestern Australia had its driest January since 2005.
\nThe weather bureau said on Thursday that the west coast faces hot, dry weather over the next three months, which will dent the outlook for wheat production in the world\u2019s fourth-largest exporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Heatwave to continue The two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, recorded their warmest average, low and high temperatures for January NEWS DESK MELBOURNE Australia endured its hottest month on record in January, with sweltering conditions expected to persist through April, the country\u2019s weather bureau said on Friday. The heatwave, which saw temperatures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n