The country endured its hottest spring and November on record.
Australia has experienced its warmest spring on record, hitting a mean temperature of 24.53°C (76.15°F), which was 2.03°C above the long-term average. The season began with record warm daily maximum and minimum temperatures in early September and finished with an intense heat wave at the end of November. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) declared November 2020 the warmest November on record.
The map above shows air temperatures across Australia for November 30, 2020. The map was derived from the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model and depicts air temperatures at 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) above the ground. The darkest red areas are where the model shows temperatures surpassing 40°C (104°F). The GEOS model, like all weather and climate models, uses mathematical equations that represent physical processes (such as precipitation and cloud processes) to calculate what the atmosphere will do. Actual measurements of physical properties, like temperature, moisture, and winds, are routinely folded into the model to keep the simulation as close to observed reality as possible.
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
