canberra:

Australia experienced its hottest year on record in 2013, officials have said.

Temperatures were 1.2°C above the long term average, the warmest since records began in 1910, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its annual report. The year also saw a record-warm winter that led into the most devastating fires in Sydney since 1968, it said.

The warming in Australia was consistent with global climate trends, it added.