when was the last heatwave in australia

The last major heatwave in Australia was in late January 2026 , with the southeast especially affected from about January 26 to January 30. NASA noted that several weather stations in South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria recorded record-high daily temperatures during that period.

Quick Scoop

A separate report also described an earlier January 5–10, 2026 heatwave in south-eastern Australia as the most severe since 2019–20. The Bureau of Meteorology’s heatwave service page also shows the 2025/26 heatwave season has ended, which fits that this was a recent summer event.

What that means

If you mean the most recent heatwave event , late January 2026 is the best-supported answer from the sources I found. If you mean the last nationally significant heatwave , the January 2026 stretch was widespread and severe enough to make headlines across multiple outlets.

Context

Australia regularly gets dangerous heatwaves, especially in summer, and they can coincide with bushfire risk and power strain. The Bureau of Meteorology defines a heatwave as three or more days of unusually high maximum and minimum temperatures for a location.