Australians endured unusually warm and wet conditions in 2016, with the year punctuated by extreme weather events including fierce fires and damaging floods.
The country clocked its fourth-warmest year on record in 2016, which was curiously paired with above-average rainfalls, according to an annual climate statement released by the Bureau of Meteorology today.
"Normally, with that amount of rainfall, you'd expect it to be a reasonably cool year but it's come out as one of the warmest on record," climate scientist Karl Braganza said.
"Part of that is the influence of global warming in the oceans and in the atmosphere."
Another major contributor to Australia's climate in 2016 was a very strong El Nino, with significantly warmer sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean feeding moisture over the continent, the bureau said.