Elsewhere, parts of regional NSW have had devastating flooding stretching across most of the state. The floodwaters have started to recede in many locations but a mammoth clean-up effort, which will take many months, has only just started.

This year, the NSW SES responded to 80,032 requests for assistance and conducted 3812 flood rescues. The areas that required the most assistance were Forbes, south Lismore and Wee Waa. NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said this year had been the busiest on record for the agency.

Meanwhile, Melbourne recorded 782 mm of rain – higher than its annual average rainfall amount of 649mm. Many parts of the state experienced devastating flooding; two people died and authorities estimate the damage bill could reach $1 billion.

The Victorian SES recorded 37,249 requests for assistance and completed 961 flood rescues over the year since January 1. The busiest callout areas were Shepparton, Echuca and Mooroopna - all of which were hit by heavy flooding in October.

If you think this summer has been particularly cold, you’d be right. Melbourne recorded its coldest December day since 2019 last week.

The city did not record temperatures equal or above 30 degrees any days in November – the last time this happened was in 2001. Elsewhere, Mount Hotham recorded the coldest summer temperature ever, reaching -5.4 degrees this month. That beat the previous record of -5.2 degrees at the same location in 1978.

From one extreme to another, Onslow in Western Australia recorded the highest temperature this year, when the mercury hit 50.7 degrees on January 12. This is the equal highest temperature ever recorded in the country - it was previously reached in 1960 at Oodnadatta, South Australia.

The climate drivers which brought heavy rainfall to eastern parts of the country have very little impact on the western parts of Australia.

But the good news is that these three climate drivers have already weakened, or are set to do so in the coming year.

Looking ahead

It’s still too early to tell what next year holds. Weatherzone meteorologist Tom Hough said models show the SAM and IOD weather patterns trending towards warmer temperatures and drier conditions. The El Nino–Southern Oscillation models also show a slightly positive phase of El Nino that will begin in the new year, which will mean warmer conditions return to the east coast.

“With that, it means we will get a greater chance of reduced rainfall and increased temps,” Hough said. “El Ninos occur every three to five years.”

Hough said the forecast models only stretch until May, so it will be some time before we can say whether the El Nino event is here to stay. The last time Australia experienced an El Nino event was in 2019, when the devastating Black Summer Bushfires occurred.

In the coming years and decades, Australia’s weather will be even more extreme, the State of the Climate 2022 report warned. The report, published this year, uses the latest data and science to make projections about Australia’s weather.

It found climate change would cause “an increase in the risk of natural disasters from extreme weather, including ‘compound extremes’, where multiple extreme events occur together or in sequence, thus compounding their impacts”. Australia’s already variable rainfall patterns would become increasingly so, with more frequent droughts, heatwaves and declining rain over the south-east of the continent.

Greg Mullins, former NSW fire commissioner and councillor with the Climate Council, said while this year had seen back-to-back disasters across the globe – including bushfires in London and flooding in Pakistan – he still had hope for the future.

“This new government believes in climate change and is prepared to do something about it,” he said. “That has given me a booster shot of positivity. Maybe we are inching towards taking real action to save the planet.”

With Lachlan Abbott

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