Melbourne experiences coldest winter in 26 years

Melbourne has shivered through its coldest winter since 1989, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Over the past 92-day period, the season's daily maximum average temperature was 13.9 degrees Celsius, almost a full degree lower than winter's usual offering.

"It doesn't sound much, but in winter that's a big difference, because it's an average," senior meteorologist Richard Carlyon of the bureau said on Tuesday.

"In summer, temperatures vary more than in the winter. (In the winter) we don't see too much variation. (It's) normally 9-15 degrees, so a departure from the average is never as great," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Although the city experienced more rainy days than usual - nine in June, 19 in July and 16 in August - this winter had comparably low rainfall to seasons in the past.

Carlyon said Melburnians had felt the pinch this season, because of relatively "mild" winters over the past decade.

"Normally at this time of year we are looking for temperatures to move into the 20s and swing out of that winter cycle... but still temperatures around the mid-teens for the next week or so."

Last month, The Economist magazine named Melbourne the world's most livable city for the fifth year in a row, with weather a key component of the selection criteria.  
  Xinhua - china.org.cn
1/9/15
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