Australia just experienced its wettest summer in nearly a decade – and the eighth-hottest on record

South Australia saw most of the season’s wildest swings with January heatwaves followed by February floods

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

This summer ricocheted from extremely hot to intensely wet across parts of the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with South Australia experiencing some of the season’s most acute swings.

Nationwide, the 2025-26 season was the wettest in nearly a decade, with rainfall 32% higher than average across the country, according to the bureau’s summary, the rainiest since 2016-17.