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BAMOS February 2026
Charts of the Past with Blair Trewin 28 January, 1932
January 1932 was an exceptionally dry and hot month in much of the southeastern quarter of Australia. It was the driest January on record for both New South Wales and Victoria, with Melbourne only receiving 0.3 mm of rain for the month. Many other parts of Australia were also relatively dry, with only the tropical Queensland coast, Arnhem Land and parts of Western Australia receiving above-average rainfall.
The heat was especially pronounced in New South Wales, where January mean maximum temperatures were the sixthhighest on record and the second-highest of the 20th century( only two of the top ten years now come from before 2000). Average monthly maximum temperatures in much of the state ' s northern inland were 5 to 6 ° C above average.
The most significant heat came during a prolonged heatwave during the second half of January, with many locations having near-unbroken heat over a period of two weeks. Dubbo had ten consecutive days above 40 ° C from 20 to 29 January, its equallongest run on record. Runs of 13 consecutive days above 41 ° C at Bourke and 14 consecutive days above 40 ° C at Cobar set records which were not broken until 2019.
The heatwave peaked on 28 January, as northwesterly winds ahead of an approaching trough brought very hot air to many parts of inland New South Wales. Typically for a prolonged heatwave, there was a large blocking high in the Tasman Sea. The highest temperature observed was 48.9 ° C at Wilcannia, while other notable readings included 48.3 ° C at Bourke, 47.8 ° C at Trangie, 44.4 ° C at Wagga Wagga and 40.1 ° C at Canberra. Mildura had reached 46.1 ° C the previous day. While most of these readings were to be surpassed in the 1939 heatwave and various 21st century heatwaves, they were still amongst the most significant of the era.
The heat was less persistent near the coast, but Adelaide reached 42.0 ° C and Melbourne 40.5 ° C on the 27th. In contrast, southern Western Australia was relatively cool, with a maximum of 21.3 ° C at Kalgoorlie on the 28th with light rain falling. This was a remarkably dry day for summer throughout eastern and central Australia, with almost no rain observed anywhere south of 20 ° S outside of Western Australia. Tropical rainfalls on the 28th itself were unexceptional, but much of the Top End of the Northern Territory received 100-200 mm over the following three days as a tropical low developed over the area.
With the very dry conditions and significant heat, it was not surprising that there were many bushfires in both New South Wales and Victoria during January and early February. Dust was also widely reported. Areas that experienced significant fires in late January included Albury, Lithgow and Warren in New South Wales, and Lorne, the Dandenongs and Mount Porepunkah in Victoria. The most significant fires of the season, however, were to affect west Gippsland on 4 February, with nine deaths reported at fires between Warburton and Yarra Junction, and around Noojee and Erica. The dry conditions broke down from early February, and the February – March period was relatively wet in Victoria and most of New South Wales.
Synoptic chart for 28 January 1932( time unknown)