2019 was Australia's warmest year on record, with a national mean temperature 1.52 degrees above average, surpassing the previous record of 1.33 degrees above average in 2013. Mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures were above average for all states and the Northern Territory.
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There was widespread warmth throughout the year; January, February, March, April, July, October, and December were all among the ten warmest on record for Australian mean temperature for their respective months. There were significant heatwaves in January and December.
2019 was also Australia's driest year on record. Nationally, annual rainfall was 40 per cent below average at 277.6 mm; the previous lowest was 314.5 mm in 1902. Rainfall for the year was below average for most of Australia except parts of Queensland's northwest and northern tropics.
Much of Australia was affected by drought, which was especially severe in New South Wales and southern Queensland.
The national annual accumulated Forest Fire Danger Index-an indication of the severity of fire weather-was the highest on record.
READ MORE: Weather 'not as bad as last weekend': BoM
