Western Australia’s Kimberley coast is enduring one of the most intense bouts of August heat ever observed in Australia, with Broome the latest place to experience record-breaking temperatures for this time of year.

Earlier this week, a weather station at Yampi Sound registered a temperature of 41.6°C. While this station has only been open since 2019, Monday’s maximum was the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months (June, July and August).

One day later, the temperature at Broome reached 39.2°C on Tuesday, beating its previous August record of 38.9°C from 2020. This new record was surpassed again on Wednesday as the mercury reached 40.5°C. This was Broome’s first August day over 40°C since weather observations commenced there in 1897.

Prior to 2024, 40°C had only been observed in Australia four times during winter. Over the past four days, this threshold has been breached 16 times at weather stations located in WA and the NT. This was also the first time an NT location (Bradshaw-Angallari in this case) has exceeded 40°C during August.

The stifling air mass will linger over northwestern Australia for the rest of this week, possibly allowing temperatures to exceed 40°C a few more times before the end of August.