The final day of the year may prove to be Melbourne's hottest day of 2021, as the mercury climbs towards 40°C.

• Melbourne's hottest day to date in 2021 was January 25, when the mercury hit 39.2°C.
• The forecast for today is a top of 38°C and as we write this story, the city had reached 36.3°C at 1:50 pm, so it's conceivable that today could come very close to being the hottest day of the year.

Image: Not the worst day for a trip to Brighton Beach, although the sand might be a little hot. Source: Pixabay.

It's unusual for Melbourne to go a full year without the temperature reaching 40°C on any given day, but we know that La Niña summers (like the back-to-back La Niña summers of 2020/21 and 2021/22 tend to reduce the likelihood of hot days due to increased cloud cover, so it's not entirely surprising that Melbourne has failed to reach 40°C this year.

Looking forward, Melbourne will start 2022 with another hot day, with the maximum likely to peak around 37°C, before a prolonged spell of max temps in the low-to-mid twenties kicks in, under the influence of southerly winds.