Look, we all know (some of us deeper down than others) that humanity has irreparably destroyed the planet in the short century or so since industrialisation, and that within our lifetimes we will likely see a radically changed climate and will feel the full and terrifying effects of that change. But it’s still fun to see it happening in real time! Whee!
No, you weren’t imagining it. We’re finally feeling the cooler sting of autumn now, but April has indeed been unseasonably hot. The long summer of 2018 is backed up by hard data, with Weatherzone confirming this was the hottest April in Sydney since records started nearly 160 years ago.
Even though we’re not actually done with the month yet, temperatures have been so far ahead of the average that it’s a safe bet it’ll breeze through as the hottest April on record.
Not including today – Monday, for those who are still trapped in the weekend mindset – the average daily temperature in Sydney for April was 26.27 degrees. This puts it well ahead of the previous record-holder: April 1922, at 25.6 degrees.
And yes, the nights have been warmer than expected too. Despite your average April night in Sydney hitting lows of 14 degrees, this month the average low has been 18 degrees.
We’ve used Sydney and NSW as a barometer, but Weatherzone tells the Sydney Morning Herald that South Australia and Victoria are likely to smash historical records too.
To preempt some more aggressive commenters: yes, there’s no way to extrapolate a broader point about climate change from the long, long summer of 2018, but still… it’s been pretty hot the last few years aye? Weirdly so? Something to ponder, is all.
