Annual Australian Climate Statement 2009
2009 ends Australia’s warmest decade on record, with a decadal mean temperature anomaly of +0.48°C above the 1961-90 average. In Australia, each decade since the 1940s has been warmer than the preceding decade. In contrast, decadal temperature variations during the first few decades of Australia’s climate record do not display any specific trend. This suggests an apparent shift in Australia’s climate from one characterised by natural variability to one increasingly characterised by a trend to warmer temperatures.