Melbourne logs its hottest winter on record as Australia braces for an early spring heat spike
Has just come through its warmest winter on record, and the heat is rolling straight into spring. The city reached 21.8 degrees on Tuesday,
Melbourne has just come through its warmest winter on record, and the heat is rolling straight into spring. The city reached 21.8 degrees on Tuesday, the first day of spring, while forecasters warned of more unusually warm weather across south-eastern Australia.
Record warmth across the south-east
The Bureau of Meteorology said Melbourne’s winter mean temperature came in at 12.8 degrees, edging past the previous record of 12.7 degrees set in 2013. Sydney also logged its warmest winter in 167 years of records, while Tasmania and Victoria posted their warmest winters on record, according to reporting based on bureau data.
That warmth was not confined to the mainland’s south-east capitals. Across Australia, the bureau said the area-averaged winter mean temperature was 1.45 degrees above the 1961-1990 average, the third-highest since national observation records began. New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania all ranked at the top of their historical winter tables. Canberra recorded its warmest winter maximum on record. Brisbane and Adelaide also finished near the top of their own rankings.
A spring start that feels like summer
Tuesday’s temperature in Melbourne sat well above the city’s average September maximum of 17.3 degrees. Forecast showers were expected later in the evening, but not before the city enjoyed a brief burst of near-summer warmth.
Sydney is set for a hot start to spring too, with temperatures forecast to reach between 24 and 27 degrees this week — the warmest opening to spring in more than 50 years, according to Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino. Brisbane is also expected to climb sharply, with temperatures potentially reaching 33 degrees by Thursday and staying only a few degrees below that level at the weekend.
Why the record matters
BoM’s spring outlook points to above-average daytime and night-time temperatures across much of the country, with an increased chance of unusually high maximums. That matters well beyond a few warm afternoons. In Australia, a hot, dry spring can quickly sharpen bushfire risk, especially after a winter that has already run far above normal.
Weatherzone said the 2026 winter was the warmest on record across huge parts of the country, with more than one state hitting record highs and several others finishing in their top tiers. The broader pattern has been clear along the eastern seaboard: winter temperatures stayed consistently above normal, with the weather in some places resembling climates usually found farther north.
For now, the next signal comes with the forecast. Warm north-westerly winds are expected to keep pushing temperatures up across south-eastern Australia. The season has barely turned. The heat has not.
