Sydney, Jan 2 (IANS): Australia experienced its second-hottest year on record in 2024, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has reported.

According to data released by the BoM on Thursday, the national mean temperature in 2024 was 1.46 above the 1961-1990 baseline average.

It makes 2024 the second-hottest year in Australia since records began in 1910 behind only 2019, when the national mean temperature was 1.51 degrees Celsius above the baseline average.

The national mean temperature is calculated by the BoM by averaging all minimum and maximum temperatures recorded across Australia.

Minimum temperatures were the highest on record in 2024, with overnight lows 1.43 degrees Celsius above the baseline average, beating the previous high of 1.27 degrees Celsius set in 1998.

The mean maximum temperature was 1.48 degrees Celsius above the baseline average, the fourth-highest figure behind 2019, 2013 and 2018.

April was the only month with a mean temperature lower than the long-term average, Xinhua news agency reported.

In August the mean temperature was 3.03 degrees Celsius above average and in October it was 2.51 degrees Celsius higher.

The mean was between 0.7 degrees Celsius and 1.9 degrees Celsius higher than the historical average in every other month.

Perth in Western Australia was the only one of Australia's capital cities to record its hottest year in 2024, with a mean temperature above 20 degrees Celsius for the first time and average maximum temperatures exceeding 26 degrees Celsius for the first time.

The Australian authorities have been warning of Extreme Fire conditions, which it describes as the worst across certain regions since Black Summer in 2019-2020.

Communities and fire crews in Australia have been preparing for several days of extreme bushfire danger.

If fire is rated as Extreme Fire Danger, it will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous.