Tweet Facebook Mail Australia's east is seeing a winter heat wave, with more on the way. Today, Sydney hit 25 degrees by lunchtime, with the temperature only dropping to 15 degrees overnight. It will cool slightly to the low 20s for the next few days ahead of Sunday which will be 25 degrees forecasters say.
READ MORE: Surprise capital's winter heat landmark Australia's east is seeing a winter heat wave, with more on the way. (Weatherzone) Monday is expected to be a balmy 28 degrees. The mercury peaked 26 degrees in Brisbane.
There are a few showers in Melbourne and a maximum temperature of 19 degrees. Plus, meteorologists say Alice Springs is expected to reach 35 degrees on Friday and Saturday, and there's every chance that its winter record temperature of 35.2 degrees could be broken.
READ MORE: Reason for British tech giant's doomed luxury yacht trip revealed The unusually warm weather sitting over the southern hemisphere during winter. (Image: C3S/ECMWF) (Supplied) Meanwhile, the southern hemisphere has experienced a three-week record warm spell, with air temperatures running about one degree above average and at levels more typical of spring than winter. Data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA5) shows the entire hemisphere set new surface air temperature records every day between July 19 and August 10.
Compared with the 1991-2020 climate, air temperatures were about 0.6 degrees or more above average during this 23-day period. READ MORE: 'Heartbeat' of community destroyed in devastating fire in Victoria Meteorologists say this blast of mid-winter warmth was driven by the effects of climate change and abnormally warm air sitting above Antarctica.
Air temperatures and sea ice coverage in the Antarctic region have recorded extreme highs and lows in recent weeks. Strong winds send tree crashing into Victorian home View Gallery New surface air temperature records were set every day from August 2 to August 9, while the area of sea ice sits at the second lowest on record for this time of year. READ MORE: Court upholds conviction of former secretary at Nazi concentration camp, age 99 Due to further stratospheric warming anticipated above the South Pole, the abnormally warm air is expected to linger over the Antarctic region as the southern hemisphere enters spring.
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