Temperatures are forecast to exceed 45°C in parts of northern Australia during the opening days of autumn, possibly getting close to the country’s seasonal maximum temperature record.

A large pool of heat that has been building over northern and central Australia during the final week of summer will send temperatures soaring in the opening days of autumn.

Computer model guidance suggests that temperatures could reach about 46 to 47°C in WA’s Pilbara district this weekend and early next week. This is close to Australia’s autumn maximum temperature record of 48.5°C at Emu Creek Station, WA in 2019. Even getting above 47.1°C would be enough to make it into the country’s top 10 temperatures for autumn.

Image: Forecast maximum temperature on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

While the highest temperatures in the opening days of autumn are likely to occur in the Pilbara, it will be noticeably hot across much of central and northern Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting Extreme heatwave conditions in some northern parts of WA, the NT and Qld from this weekend into next week, the highest category on the three-tiered Australian heatwave scale.

Image: Heatwave severity forecast for the first three days of next week.

Even if Australia’s national autumn temperature record isn’t broken in the first week of March, this summer-like air mass should see some individual locations register their highest autumn temperature on record.

It is not unusual to have temperatures pushing into the mid-40s over northern Australia in early autumn, particularly before the date of the autumnal equinox in late March. However, the coming week’s heat is expected to be more intense than usual for this time of year.

Image: Daily Forecast on the Weatherzone app for Pannawonica, WA, as at 11:41 am AWST February 28, 2025.

The intensity of the impending early-autumn heatwave can be attributed to two things: a conducive weather pattern allowing the heat to build up and the background warming influence of climate change.