MELBOURNE, April 28 (Xinhua) — The Australian city of Melbourne has recorded its hottest late-April day in 160 years, as the effects of an El Nino weather pattern continue to take their toll.
The minimum temperature recorded on Thursday was 21 degrees Celcius, the highest ever recorded for the last week of April.
The previous record for that period was set on Wednesday, when Melbourne's 9 a.m. minimum was 19.8 degrees Celcius.
The Victorian capital has experienced one of the hottest Aprils in living memory due to the presence of the El Nino system.
Despite approaching winter, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on Thursday confirmed the temperature didn't drop below 21 degrees Celsius in Melbourne overnight, the warmest late April day-night minimum since 1856.
"It's quite significant for this time of year," BoM forecaster Peter Newham told News Corp.
Daily minimums are automatically generated by the BoM each morning.
Meteorologists are now saying the state of Victoria hasn't experienced April heat on this scale in over a decade.
"These sort of temperatures are six to 10 degrees (Celsius) above average," Brett Dutschke, forecaster with WeatherZone, told Fairfax Media.
"And for this late in the season, we haven't experienced this much warmth in 11 years."
Earlier in the week, Melbourne enjoyed the hottest Anzac Day, a national day of military remembrance that falls on April 25 in eight years with the mercury hitting a top of 26 degrees Celsius.
The unseasonable heat is expected to disappear in coming weeks, however, with scientists forecasting the end Australia's El Nino phenomenon, which has been present since mid-2015.
With the impending end of the El Nino, the third strongest on record temperatures will return to normal, Newham said.
According to the Bureau's latest El Nino Southern Oscillation report, once the El Nino dissipates there is a 50 percent chance that a La Nina will form in September.
Australia has not seen a La Nina weather event, the reverse of the hot, dry El Nino pattern, since 2010-11.
