Sydney Experiences Warmest June In Weather Records, w. 15 Straight Days With Highs At/Above 20C

Sydney has officially experienced its hottest June since records began, after a winter month of spring-like warmth. While early weather data suggested the month was merely among the warmest, the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed on Friday that June 2026 broke the all-time mean temperature record at Observatory Hill, where tracking first began in 1859.

The month was marked by 15 consecutive days with a maximum temperature of at least 20C between 7 and 21 June. This overtook the previous June record of nine consecutive days in 1919. According to a bureau spokesperson, Sydney’s overall mean temperature – the standard metric for heat records that is the average across each day – in June hit a record-breaking 16.1C, eclipsing the previous 1991 record of 15.7C.

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Prof Andy Pitman, a Sydney-based climate scientist, expressed a “complete lack of surprise” at the new record. “It’s got the signature of global warming all over it,” Pitman said. “With temperature, there’s no wriggle room around it any more … We know that the warming is due to the failure of governments around the world to deeply cut emissions.”

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On land, Pitman said vegetation that should be dormant during winter was “happily transpiring”, drawing moisture out of the soil. “Moving soil moisture out into the atmosphere and drying … amplifies the heating due to CO2 and unless we see decent rain, leading to dry springs and elevated fire risk,” Pitman said. “The big issue here is not that lots of people in Sydney are enjoying a warm winter. It’s downstream in spring and summer, when everything is drier than it should have been.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/04/sydney-records-hottest-june-since-1859-as-expert-warns-new-high-a-signature-of-global-warming