IT’S official: Melbourne has never had a hotter start to a year.
Maximum temperatures have been above average every month in 2013 and Sky News senior meteorologist Tom Saunders said this was a historic streak of warm weather.
“This is no mean feat considering weather data exists for Melbourne back to the 1850s,” Mr Saunders said.
Melbourne’s average temperature has been 22.5 degrees so far this year, significantly above the long-term January to July average of 20 degrees.
Bureau of Meteorology climate meterologist Dr Harvey Stern confirmed the record, which he said exceeded an average temperature of 22.3 degrees for the first half of 2007.
There has been no cold comfort in winter either, with every day in July seeing a maximum temperature higher than the long-term July average of 13.5 degrees.
Melbourne even reached a balmy top of 19.5 degrees on Monday afternoon, six degrees higher than normal.
But this month’s hot streak could come to an end on Saturday with a cold front expected to see the mercury drop to a chilly 11 degrees.
Mr Saunders said the record for Melbourne’s hottest year had been routinely threatened throughout the last decade.
“The unprecedented heat is due to abnormally warm ocean temperatures surrounding Australia which is partly the result of global warming,” Mr Saunders said.
“Nine out of the ten warmest years recorded in Melbourne have occurred during the past 15 years, although the urban heat island effect does play a role in higher urban temperatures.”
Dr Stern said Melbourne’s conditions were mirroring a global pattern of rising temperatures.
“We have higher temperatures in a slightly warmer world, and so you get the right patterns and that’s the result,” Dr Stern said.
He said dozens of areas around Victoria were also experiencing their hottest start to a year, including Mildura, Ballarat and Bendigo.
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