Perth has joined much of southern and eastern Australia this week by recording their lowest temperature of the year. Western Australia's capital city dipped to a chilly seven degrees early on Thursday morning, making it the coldest start in seven months. Skies over the city remained clear last night as a weak ridge of high pressure extended across the state's southwest. Cool southerly winds became calm at just before 10pm, with only a few light gusts recorded before sunrise. Last night's light winds and clear sky allowed heat from the previous day to radiate up into the atmosphere, allowing temperatures to plummet in the city. It was even colder just north of Perth. Pearce recorded a low of five degrees last night, six below the monthly average and the coldest night since late winter. This is the time of year when nights become increasingly cold across the nation's southwest. Last year during May, Perth got as low as 4.5 degrees and in 2004 it dropped to two degrees, more than eight below the monthly average. Similar conditions are expected over the next couple of nights as a region of high pressure lingers over Perth. The temperature is expected to dip below 10 degrees on both Friday and Saturday morning, although matching last night's low of seven is unlikely.