Record temperatures have baked Central Australia across a more than 3 month period. In the last 100 days from December 1 to March 10, 39.6℃ is the average maximum temperature in Mparntwe Alice Springs. 92 of the past 100 days have been above 35℃, every second day over 40℃. Hotter than any other year, with 2018/19 averaging 39.3 across the same 100 day period.
Across the region, near record temperatures were set. January 2025 was the second hottest January in Mparntwe Alice Springs, Mutitjulu & Yulara and Milyirrtjarra (Warburton), and the third hottest January in Pukatja (Ernabella). February was the second hottest February recorded in Mparntwe Alice Springs and Milyirrtjarra (Warburton), and the third hottest February for Mutitjulu & Yulara and Pukatja (Ernabella).
Human induced climate change increases the likelihood, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, including extreme heat, droughts, bushfires and flooding across the arid lands.
Maureen, Director, Running Water Community Press
“This heat is just too much. Sometimes I have no energy and it is hard to breathe. Sometimes the aircon doesn’t work when it is too hot, even when the aircon is on”
“Everybody been talking about this hot weather, everywhere really. This is a really warm March, this one is”
Associate Professor Supriya Mathew - Menzies School of Health Research
“The effects of extreme heat go beyond direct health impacts. The socio-economic effects of heat are often understated. Thermally uncomfortable environments affect people’s work productivity, sleep, and even behaviour. For instance, some of the effects can be seen in the form of increased aggressive behaviour or interpersonal conflict. There is thus an urgent need to use a proactive approach to ensure that socio-economically disadvantaged populations are not further marginalized by the often invisible effects of climatic changes.”
Nathan Stringfellow - Sole Trader & construction worker, NS Services
“It’s becoming difficult, if not impossible, to complete a full day's work of manual labour under these temperatures. Trying to push through a full work week when the temperatures stay in the 40’s, especially in Autumn just isn’t sustainable anymore. It’s exhausting.”
“It’s worrying to think in the next 5 years, maintaining a steady workflow in Alice could become very difficult”
Alex Vaughan - Policy Advocacy Coordinator, Arid Lands Environment Centre
“This is the hottest 100 days in Mparntwe Alice Springs history. 92 of the past 100 days have been above 35℃ and every second day above 40℃. This is extreme and prolonged record heat. This is the climate crisis in action.”
“Extreme heat is a justice issue, which disproportionately impacts those with poor housing, pre-existing health conditions as well as environments that are already degraded and poorly managed”
“In Mparntwe Alice Springs, the town library, town pool and shopping centres are some of the only public spaces where people can avoid the heat. They function as day to day cooling centres for thousands of people. These places of cool refuge are a luxury that residents in surrounding very remote communities often do not have. We need more climate appropriate public spaces across the arid lands, and that can be done through effective climate adaptation planning.”
“We must connect the dots in the extreme and intense weather across the continent in recent months, from the extreme heat and fires in Central Australia, the latest monsoon on record in the Top-End of the NT, cyclones and flooding in New South Wales and Queensland, and destructive fires in Western Australia and Victoria. We are experiencing more catastrophic impacts as a result of global heating and a changing climate. The opening up of additional gas basins, such as the Beetaloo Basin is further fueling the climate crisis.”
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