Victoria records an unusually warm start to spring
Spring in the Australian state of Victoria began with above-average temperatures following a wet and mild winter that ranked among the 10 warmest in the state on record. This was reported by ABC News Australia.
In Melbourne, the average maximum temperature in September is 17.3 degrees Celsius, but the air there warmed to nearly 22 degrees the previous day. In the town of Bairnsdale in the East Gippsland region, the temperature reached 24.1 degrees — more than six degrees above the September norm.
Unusually high temperatures
Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Chris Kent said the entire state had experienced one of its warmest starts to spring. According to him, such temperature readings occur infrequently. At noon, East Gippsland was warmer than the semi-arid city of Mildura in northwestern Victoria.
Senior meteorologist Jonathan Gough noted that the winter of 2026 in Australia was particularly warm. According to preliminary data from the Bureau of Meteorology, it ranked among the 10 warmest winter periods in the country on record.
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Fire risks and farmers’ expectations
The spring fire danger forecast for Victoria was described as one of the most serious in the past 25 years. Fire services warned of an elevated bushfire risk in East Gippsland from October, as well as in parts of the state’s southwest.
According to ABC, the established El Niño climate pattern may contribute to warmer and drier weather across much of Australia in the coming months. At the same time, the wet and warm winter supported crops and pastures in agricultural regions in the east of the country.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) believes that Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia may receive high grain harvests. Victoria planted the largest area of winter crops in the state’s history this year, with production forecast to be 12% higher.
