March was Australia's hottest on record, with temperatures 2C above average

The latest monthly climate breakdown shows that despite two severe tropical cyclones in the northern states, temperatures across Australia were 2.13C above the average throughout last month in part due to an unusually dry summer in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

“One of the standout features of March was there was above-average temperatures just about everywhere; more than 99% of the country,” Blair Trewin, a senior climatologist at the bureau told Guardian Australia.

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According to the bureau’s report, two severe tropical cyclones - Trevor and Veronica - contributed to very much above-average rainfall in parts of north Queensland, the east of the Northern Territory, north-east South Australia and parts of the Pilbara coast.

A wet end to the month brought totals to above average for eastern New South Wales, far-eastern Victoria and south-east Queensland.

However the report noted that “unfortunately, the rain needed to reduce significant rainfall deficiencies in drought-affected areas is substantial and will require above-average rainfall over a prolonged period to completely remove deficits at longer timescales”.

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