Several places in the NT and WA surpassed 40ºC on Friday, which were the first 40ºC observations anywhere in Australia so far this spring.

A hot air mass pooling over northern and northwestern Australia on Friday saw temperatures soaring to levels not seen anywhere in the country for six months.

Image: Modelled maximum temperatures on Friday, according to the ECMWF-HRES model.

As of 4pm AEST on Friday, temperatures had reached as high as 41.3ºC at Mandora in WA and 40.7ºC at Borroloola in the NT. Fitzroy Crossing (40.5ºC), McArthur River (40.4ºC), Ngukurr (40.2ºC), Jabiru (40.0ºC) and Bradshaw (40.0ºC) had also reached the 40ºC mark by that point in the afternoon.

Prior to today, the last 40ºC temperature in Australia occurred in March, at the tail end of the last warm season. Today’s heat is a sign that the next warm season is now upon Australia, with temperatures to get even hotter in the coming months.

Australia’s earliest 40ºC on record was on August 22, 2020, when a weather station at Yampi Sound in WA reached 40.7ºC.