Australia's weather over the past month has ranged from torrential rain and floods across the east coast to serious "rainfall deficiencies" or drought conditions in the north of Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In its latest drought statement, Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says October rainfall was the second-highest on record.
Rainfall was highest on record for large parts of the Murray-Darling Basin in NSW and Victoria.
Australia's national area-average mean temperature was 0.19°C above average for October.
BoM said for the period starting December 2021, "serious rainfall deficiencies" (totals in the lowest 10 per cent of historical observations since 1900) continued to affect western Tasmania, and parts of the Top End and north of the Northern Territory.
However, outside of the northern wet season from October to April tropical northern Australia typically has very low rainfall totals, BoM says.
It said "multi-year rainfall deficiencies, which originated during the 2017-2019 drought, have been almost entirely removed from the eastern states following the heavy cool season rain".
"Pockets of multi-year rainfall deficiencies remain in the South West Land Division of Western Australia, parts of the Northern Territory, and the Queensland coast."
It said compared to last month, "rainfall deficiencies have eased slightly".
IN OTHER NEWS:
But BoM significant flooding affected large areas of eastern Australia across October, in some areas over prolonged periods, or in multiple events.
The devastating floods, which began in mid-October, are still threatening communities along the Murray River and its tributaries.
However, outside of the northern wet season from October to April tropical northern Australia typically has very low rainfall totals.
BoM is forecasting above median rainfall for November to January for most of eastern Australia. Below median rainfall is likely for large parts of Western Australia.
The statistics paint a picture of a country in climate stress as we approach a third consecutive La Nina summer.
