Australia has had its wettest two-year period on record and Sydney, its biggest city, has had its coldest summer in almost 50 years.
The 1 409 millimetres that fell in 2010 and 2011 surpassed the old two-year record of 1 407 millimetres set in 1973-1974, Bureau of Meteorology figures released on Tuesday showed.
But the weather people were quick to point out that Australia is dry and getting drier.
“As wet as it has been, the longer-term averages still show much of Australia to have received below-average rainfall,” the bureau said in its report. “Dry conditions have persisted across both south-western and south-eastern Australia in recent decades.”
It pointed to a reduction in autumn and winter rainfall across the south-east since 1996 and a similar decline in winter rainfall across the south-west since around 1970.
The bureau said 2010 was the driest year on record for south-western Australia with just 395 millimetres of rain. The next driest year was 1940 with 439 millimetres. - Sapa-dpa