Dry July has taken on a new meaning in the ACT this year, as the territory continues to battle extreme conditions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Data from the Bureau of Meteorology's weather station at Canberra Airport shows that the ACT endured its driest July since 1982, with just 7.8 millimetres of rain recorded.
It was the sixth lowest total on record for July at Canberra Airport, and the worst since the record low of 3.8 millimetres in 1982.
The long-term average is 40.9 millimetres, meaning last month's total was just 19 per cent of the usual rainfall levels.
The ACT also experienced unusually warm July days, with the average maximum temperature recorded at Canberra Airport - 13.3 degrees - just 0.1 of a degree behind the record set in 2013.
The warmest day was July 5, when Tuggeranong reached 18.7 degrees to equal the record for the highest July temperature recorded at that weather station.
While temperatures hit unusual heights during the day, they also fell more frequently than usual overnight.
Canberra Airport recorded 19 days in July with a minimum temperature of minus 2 degrees or lower.
It was the first time that had happened since 1971, when there were 20 days in July in which the mercury plunged those depths. In 1953, there were 21 such days.
The coldest temperature recorded in the territory last month was minus 7.9 degrees, in Tuggeranong on July 23.
No official declaration of drought has been made in the ACT despite the lack of rain, which the Bureau of Meteorology has called a "severe rainfall deficiency", meaning rainfall levels are in the driest 5 per cent of historical totals.
The conditions prompted territory farmers to warn last month that while they were already having to make tough decisions, a dry spring would mean "everyone's in the poo".
Ninety-nine per cent of NSW is in drought, according to Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who announced an extra $500 million in emergency drought relief for the state's farmers on Monday.
While the Bureau of Meteorology's seasonal outlook is predicting a 70 per cent chance of a dry season in the ACT from August to October, there could be some small relief on Friday.
Bureau forecaster Bimal KC said between 4 and 10 millimetres of rain was expected.
"A cold front is coming through from the west and snow is possible above 1400 metres, so maybe on the Brindabella Ranges," he said.
"Winds will be 30 to 45 kilometres [per hour] in the morning and early afternoon."
Up to 4 millimetres of rain is forecast on Monday, but there is otherwise little rain on the way in the short-term.
