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Today, 3:52AM UTC
34°C at night: why this week's heatwave is still dangerous after dark
Temperatures soaring above 49°C in multiple states have been making headlines this week as a prolonged and intense heatwave grips a broad area of southeastern Australia. But while extreme maximum temperatures are a dangerous part of any Australian heatwave, high overnight minimums also have a big impact on people’s health. What is a heatwave? There is no globally accepted definition of a heatwave. The World Meteorological Organization defines a heatwave as “a period where local excess heat accumulates over a sequence of unusually hot days and nights.” The Australian definition uses the average temperatures (minimums and maximums) over a 3-day period combined with observed temperatures over the past 30 days. This approach aims to measure how much of a shock to the body the forecast heat will be relative to the weather experienced over the past few weeks. Australia’s heatwave classification is split into three categories based on intensity: A low-intensity heatwave is a run of warm weather that most people can cope with. These happen each summer. Severe heatwaves may be challenging for vulnerable people, particularly older people with medical conditions. Extreme heatwaves are rare bouts of heat that may cause problems for people who don’t take steps to stay cool, even those who are healthy. Working or exercising outdoors can be dangerous in these heatwaves. Overnight temperatures make recovery harder Hot days are common across Australia during summer. However, when these hot days happen in succession and the nights in between them also stay very warm, it becomes harder to recover from the daytime heat. Warm nights can be dangerous in two main ways: A high overnight minimum temperature means the day starts off at a higher temperature, which may allow more hours of extreme heat during the daytime. Hot nights make it harder for humans and animals to recover from intense daytime heat, which can put stress on the body. Image: Forecast minimum temperatures over Australia on Friday, January 30, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Days and nights abnormally hot this week Daytime temperatures have been remarkably high in southeastern Australia this week, reaching above 49°C in parts of South Australia and New South Wales and over 48°C in Victoria and Queensland. This extreme daytime heat has been bookended by some exceptionally warm nights too. In SA, Marree registered two consecutive overnight minimum temperatures of 34.2°C on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. These hot nights both followed daytime maximums above 48°C. Adelaide also had a very hot night earlier this week, with the temperature sitting on 36.2°C at midnight on Monday night. This midnight heat was more than 7°C warmer than the city’s average daytime maximum temperature for January. This week’s heatwave will continue to cause maximum and minimum temperatures to stay well above average over parts of NSW, SA, Qld and Vic until at least Saturday. Image: Forecast for Marree, SA showing temperatures staying above 30°C for the next few days and nights. Source: Weatherzone. How to stay safe during a heatwave NSW Health has the following advice to stay safe during a heatwave: If you have air-conditioning that is used for both heating and cooling, make sure it is set to cool. Stock up on food and drinks for your household and pets, and medicines to last the period of forecast hot weather so that you can avoid going out in the hottest part of the day. Fill ice trays in your freezer or put some cool-packs in the refrigerator or freezer. Check in with family and friends who may be more at risk during hot weather to see if there is anything they might need to help them prepare. Consider how changes in weather might impact planned daily activities and exercise routines. Check alerts for roads and transport during extreme weather events and bushfires.
28 Jan 2026, 11:41PM UTC
After bone-dry January, Adelaide faces low summer rainfall record
Adelaide has had no rain this January, with the city facing the strong likelihood of the first dry January since 2019 and just the eighth on record, in data going back to 1839. It has also been an exceptionally hot month in Adelaide, with minimum temperatures running at 1°C above the long-term average and maximums 3.6°C above average as of this Thursday, January 29. And there’s more heat coming with forecast maximums of 37°C for this Thursday and 41°C for Friday. With little if any rain on the horizon to close out January, or for the first few days of February, it’s possible that this could be Adelaide’s driest summer on record. Adelaide's driest summer was 1905/06 with just 4mm in total. This year, just 2.8mm fell in December, so after a rainless January to date, 2.8mm is the city’s running tally for the 2025/26 summer. Dry Adelaide weather continues recent trend December, January, February and March are Adelaide’s four driest months on average, so it’s not unusual to see parched parks and paddocks in and around the SA capital at this time of year. But this summer has still been considerably drier than usual so far, and it’s the continuation of a dry trend that was evident for much of 2024 and 2025. Image: Australian rainfall deciles in 2025. Source: BoM. The graph above shows rainfall deficiencies across Australia in 2025. As you can see, Adelaide is in the pink zone, indicating below-average rainfall. In 2025, Adelaide received 423.8mm of rainfall, which was about 80% of its long-term annual average of 525.2mm. In 2024, Adelaide received just 346.6mm, which was around 66% of its long-term annual average. The two consecutive years of rainfall deficiencies in 2024 and 2025 are reflected in the next graph (below) which shows that some areas adjacent to the city had their lowest 24-month rainfall on record. Image: Australian rainfall deciles in the period from January 2024 to December 2025. Source: BoM. Meanwhile, hot dry weather persists across South Australia this Thursday, with two more days of extreme heat on the cards for the state’s north and east. The mercury could even nudge 50°C this Thursday in places like Marree in the North East Pastoral forecast district. Down south, a few showers are showing on the radar, skidding quickly across the Eyre and Yorke peninsulas, Kangaroo Island, and parts of the southeast. But no rainfall was officially recorded in the first hour of the meteorological day to 10am (ACDT).
28 Jan 2026, 5:59AM UTC
Aussie ski village records its first 30-degree day
Temperatures have exceeded 49°C in the ongoing heatwave in southeastern Australia for the third straight day, yet it was a reading of just 30.5°C in the snowfields that arguably provided Wednesday’s most remarkable heat anomaly. Let’s deal with the hottest temperatures first: On Monday, the SA coastal town of Ceduna hit 49.5°C. On Tuesday, Renmark in SA’s Riverland reached 49.6°C, while the NSW town of Pooncarie hit 49.7°C – the state’s hottest day since 1939. This Wednesday, 49.2°C was recorded at the official BoM weather station at Borrona Downs, a cattle station in far northwestern NSW. It obviously wasn’t anywhere near that hot in mainland Australia’s high country, but in historical terms, it was a scorcher. Sizzling in the snowfields The weather station at Falls Creek ski resort in Victoria had never recorded a 30-degree day in 36 years of records going back to 1990 – until today. At 2:26pm, the temperature briefly spiked to 30.5°C, breaking the old record of 29.7°C from January 2014. Record-breaking temperatures were also experienced in the NSW Snowy Mountains, with Perisher Valley registering its hottest day in 50 years of records (at two different sites) when the mercury touched 30.8°C at 4:22pm. Perisher is said to have received its unusual name when a grazier described an unseasonable blizzard as a "proper perisher" in terms of the survival chances of his cattle. Sunstroke would have been a bigger worry than frostbite this Wednesday. Image: Remnant winter snow patches clinging to life on the flanks of Mt Kosciuszko in the extreme January heat. Source: ski.com.au. Canberra’s second-hottest day on record When it’s hot in the mountains, the mercury usually soars in Canberra, and so it proved today as the national capital endured its second-hottest day on record, with a high of 42.6°C to 4pm. Canberra's hottest day on record was 44°C on January 4, 2020, during the Black Summer. Tuggeranong, in the city’s south, had its hottest day on record with 43.5°C, narrowly beating its 43.3°C from that same scorching January 4 in the Black Summer. Image: Predicted maximums on Wednesday for Victoria and nearby areas. While the hottest air was concentrated in eastern SA and western NSW, a tongue of intense heat reached NE Victoria and the High Country. Why mountains are generally cooler than lower areas The higher you go, the less the air pressure. This means that air molecules are more spread out, which reduces heat retention. In dry, clear conditions during the afternoon, you tend to lose around one degree of temperature for every 100m of altitude gained (this is called the dry adiabatic lapse rate). So for example, the Victorian town of Wangaratta (weather station elevation 152m) reached 45.2°C this Wednesday. Two hours southeast of Wangaratta, Falls Creek (weather station elevation 1765m) reached 30.5°C, as mentioned. So that’s a difference of about 15 degrees between two sites that are separated by about 1600m of altitude – which corresponds pretty closely to the formula. Meanwhile heat will persist throughout the week in Canberra and the high country, although it’s unlikely that Wednesday’s extremes will be seen again. By next Monday, frost could be on the grass in the morning at Perisher with a maximum of 0°C forecast after a southerly change on Sunday.