Large swathes of the country are experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures causing Sydneysiders to sweat through Thursday, with temperatures set to peak this weekend.
Only a week into spring and forecasters have said the mercury could soar 10C higher than the September average with the ‘warmest weather since April’ due.
On Thursday, Sydney saw temperatures hit nearly 29C – 8C higher than the average for this time of year.
There is a large high pressure system on the east coast which is drawing warm winds from Australia’s north over much of NSW.
Sydneysiders sweltered through an unseasonably warm Thursday (pictured at Sydney’s Lower North Shore) with temperatures hitting nearly 29C
A high pressure system on the east coast is bringing warm weather from the north of Australia down over NSW for the next couple of days
Sydney and Brisbane could hit a summer-like 30C on the weekend – providing great conditions to get in some physically distanced outdoor recreation.
The temperature for the NSW capital is, however, then set to drop again early next week to maximum of just below 20C on Monday.
And the weekend’s warm weather won’t stretch to the south of the country, with Melbourne in the mid-20s on Friday and Saturday and then dipping to a high of just 14C on Sunday.
There could even be snow in some parts of Victoria’s high country and Tasmania.
There will be a similar story over on the west coast – with Perth likely to have maximums below 20C over the weekend.
Canberra is set to experience its typically frosty mornings with a minimum temperature of 4C on Saturday and dipping to a below freezing -1C on Monday.
Snowfalls could be seen as low as 600 metres above sea level in Tasmania while Victoria and NSW could be in for snow down to around 1,000 metres.
In the country’s north, Darwin will be hot and humid with temperatures reaching the mid-30s on the weekend and showers on Sunday.
Locals headed out to parks and beaches on Thursday as the mercury hit 29C (pictured)
Some relief is in sight with an end to lockdown scheduled for October (pictured: residents on the Lower North Shore) – but until then Sydneysiders will enjoy balmy spring temperatures
The Bureau of Meteorology declared the La Nina weather system – which provided Australia with an unusually cool and wet summer 2020/21 – was officially over in March this year.
And while the system resulted in one of the mildest summers Australia has seen temperature-wise for decades, the mercury was still 0.6C above the average.
After Australia’s blisteringly hot 2019/20 summer some weather forecasters have called this a concerning development.
‘La Nina summers are, on average, 0.36C cooler than average for all summers.’ Monash University’s David Holmes previously said.
‘But like all summers, La Nina summers have been warming,’ he said.
This also raises questions about one of the country’s most previous resources.
Australia’s national water plan needs a greater focus on the impact of climate change and more input from Indigenous people, a new report has found.
The warmer conditions provided a great opportunity for many of those in lockdown to get out and enjoy the sunshine (pictured on Sydney’s Lower North Shore on Thursday)
Many took the warm weather as a chance to get some water-based recreation (pictured in Sydney on Thursday)
Last week the Productivity Commission released its final report of a review into the National Water Initiative, a federal-state reform agreement which began in 2004.
It said the plan needed a ‘refresh’ by including references to climate change and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
‘Since the NWI was agreed, the potentially devastating impacts of climate change on Australia’s water resources have become clearer,’ the report said.
The report noted capital city populations are projected to increase by 10 million people by 2050.
Locals hit the b-ball court to get in a quick game of hoops (pictured) on Thursday as temperatures topped 28C in Sydney
At the same time, climate projections point to hotter, drier and more extreme weather, particularly in southern Australia.
‘This will likely mean material reductions in water availability for most of the country and an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods across the nation.
The commission also said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had made it clear that they ‘aspire to much greater access to, and control over, water resources’.
But progress to enable this has been ‘slow’.
While there is set to be warm weekend weather in NSW and Queensland, further south they are in for a chilly weekend (pictured, Sydney on Thursday)
The report found states and territories were still in the process of implementing metering policies for non-urban water users.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Water Minister Keith Pitt noted the report’s finding that consistent water planning arrangements and the creation of water trading markets had ‘established pathways to create a more sustainable balance between consumptive and environmental uses’.
They said the report would inform the renewal of the NWI, which is due to be agreed by 2022.
Temperatures for the east coast will be warm on the weekend and cool next week, while in the south and west of the country locals are set for a brisk Saturday and Sunday