January heatwave scorched southeastern Australia

January 2026 brought sweltering conditions to much of Australia, with an area-averaged mean temperature 1.90°C (3.42°F) above the 1961–1990 average. The Bureau of Meteorology said this made it the fourth-warmest January since observations began in 1910. A late-month heatwave from January 26 to 30 was especially intense in the southeast, and many stations in South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria recorded record-high daily temperatures.

A model of air temperatures at 2 meters above the ground for 03:00 Universal Time on January 29 shows the darkest reds where temperatures reached or exceeded 45°C (113°F); the map was produced with a GEOS model that integrates meteorological observations with equations representing atmospheric processes.

The hottest measurements were in South Australia: Andamooka on the 29th and Port Augusta airport on the 30th reached 50.0°C (122.0°F).

Australia, southeastern Australia

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