Annual Climate Statement Briefing from the Bureau of Meteorology

Australia's 2025 Climate Record

The Bureau of Meteorology published its Annual Climate Statement 2025 in early February 2026, marking the official tally of the nation's weather after preliminary summaries emerged in January. The report shows 2025 as Australia's fourth-warmest year since records began in 1910, with the national average temperature 1.23°C above the 1961–1990 baseline. Maximum temperatures ranked equal fourth-warmest, while minima placed eighth, reflecting broad warming consistent with the prior year's second-warmest ranking.

Rainfall presented a patchwork: nationally 8% above the long-term average at 503 mm, yet below average across most of Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, inland New South Wales, and southern Western Australia. Heatwaves struck hard between January–March and October–December, reaching extreme levels in places, compounding stress on water supplies already strained by dry soils in the south.

These patterns carry immediate consequences for water-dependent sectors. Agriculture in southern states faces tighter allocations and higher irrigation costs, while urban centres contend with reservoir drawdowns and bushfire risks that lengthen fire seasons. The recent shift toward drier southern forecasts for March–May 2026, driven by lingering La Niña influences and soil moisture deficits, amplifies these pressures.

Less visible are the trade-offs: warmer oceans and atmospheric changes feed both flood risks in the north and drought in the south, forcing decisions on infrastructure investment versus ecosystem preservation. State-level extremes—such as South Australia and Western Australia's third-warmest years—underscore uneven impacts, where some regions adapt faster than others, widening economic disparities.