Birdsville is a weather station located 47 m above sea level. Its records go back to 1956: 47 years of temperature are available up to 2025, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 24.0 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (23.1 °C): a difference of 0.9 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2017 (25.2 °C) and the coldest 1976 (21.5 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 6 out of 47, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.32 °C per decade. The station ranks 12 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1956
The first ten years of the series (1956–1979) average 23.0 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 24.4 °C, a difference of +1.4 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2017 (25.2 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 24.5 °C (2019) and bottoms out at 23.0 °C (1992).
Annual rainfall since 1956
On average 158 mm of rain falls per year over the 23 documented years. The wettest year, 2010, received 532 mm; the driest, 2019, only 41 mm, which is 13.0 times less. Between 2004 and 2025, 6 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.
Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020
The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31.1 °C | 33.2 °C | +2.1 °C | – | – | – |
| February | 30.7 °C | 31.6 °C | +0.9 °C | – | – | – |
| March | 27.9 °C | 28.7 °C | +0.8 °C | – | – | – |
| April | 23.1 °C | 24.1 °C | +1.0 °C | – | 2 mm | – |
| May | 18.4 °C | 18.6 °C | +0.2 °C | – | 8 mm | – |
| June | 14.7 °C | 15.1 °C | +0.4 °C | – | 12 mm | – |
| July | 13.5 °C | 14.4 °C | +0.9 °C | – | 4 mm | – |
| August | 16.1 °C | 16.5 °C | +0.4 °C | – | 2 mm | – |
| September | 20.3 °C | 21.3 °C | +1.0 °C | – | 8 mm | – |
| October | 24.2 °C | 25.0 °C | +0.8 °C | – | – | – |
| November | 27.4 °C | 28.5 °C | +1.1 °C | – | – | – |
| December | 30.0 °C | 31.3 °C | +1.3 °C | – | 11 mm | – |
The largest temperature change is in January (+2.1 °C) and the smallest in May (+0.2 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.9 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.
Records at Birdsville
- Warmest year: 25.2 °C, in 2017
- Coldest year: 21.5 °C, in 1976
- Driest year: 41 mm, in 2019
- Wettest year: 532 mm, in 2010
- Warmest month: 36.8 °C, in January 2019
- Coldest month: 11.2 °C, in July 1957
- Wettest month: 231 mm, in March 2011
- Hottest day: 49.5 °C, on 24 December 1972
- Coldest day: −2.0 °C, on 19 July 1965
- Heaviest rain in one day: 167.8 mm, on 1 March 2010
3.7 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 51.5 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.32 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +2.0 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.13 °C per decade: the station ranks 12 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 11 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +1.0 °C. The highest departure was in October 2024 (+2.9 °C); the lowest, in August 2025 (−1.3 °C).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 27.9 °C | +2.9 °C | 9 mm | – |
| November 2024 | 30.8 °C | +2.3 °C | 20 mm | – |
| December 2024 | 33.7 °C | +2.4 °C | 23 mm | 11 mm |
| January 2025 | 34.9 °C | +1.7 °C | 0 mm | – |
| February 2025 | 33.9 °C | +2.3 °C | 0 mm | – |
| March 2025 | 30.9 °C | +2.2 °C | 137 mm | – |
| April 2025 | 23.9 °C | −0.2 °C | 46 mm | 2 mm |
| May 2025 | 18.9 °C | +0.3 °C | 12 mm | 8 mm |
| June 2025 | 14.5 °C | −0.6 °C | 0 mm | 12 mm |
| July 2025 | 13.4 °C | −1.0 °C | 5 mm | 4 mm |
| August 2025 | 15.2 °C | −1.3 °C | 0 mm | 2 mm |
| September 2025 | 21.4 °C | +0.1 °C | 17 mm | 8 mm |
| October 2025 | 27.8 °C | +2.8 °C | 10 mm | – |
| November 2025 | 28.6 °C | +0.1 °C | 25 mm | – |
| December 2025 | 32.1 °C | +0.8 °C | 6 mm | 11 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | – |
| February 2026 | – | – | 178 mm | – |
| March 2026 | – | – | 60 mm | – |
| April 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 2 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 30 mm | 8 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 19 mm | 12 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 15 mm | 4 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 2 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 0 mm | 8 mm |
Data source and licence
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology (ACORN-SAT) and NOAA NCEI (GHCN-Daily) (dataset “ACORN-SAT v2 daily (homogenised) + GHCN-Daily”), licence CC BY 4.0; Public domain (NOAA NCEI). Last updated: 29 October 2026.
The data for Birdsville are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 227 stations in Australia: the overview page lets you compare them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual mean temperature at Birdsville?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Birdsville is 24.0 °C. It was 23.1 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.9 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Birdsville?
Since records began in 1956, the warmest year at Birdsville is 2017, at 25.2 °C on average. The coldest is 1976 (21.5 °C).
Is the climate at Birdsville getting warmer?
Yes: at Birdsville, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.32 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +2.0 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Neighbouring stations