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Move to suspend trans-Tasman arrangement for 72 hours prompted by Covid variant case in Auckland. Also, late February Pfizer vaccine rollout planned. Follow all the latest updates, live • NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots• State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained • Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for Australian rollout• Follow the global coronavirus liveblog 6.32am GMT Alleged sexual abuser Malka Leifer has left Israel and is...

Maximum and minimum temperatures were above average for all states and territories, Bureau of Meteorology saysThe last decade was the hottest on record for Australia with the temperature almost 1C above average and one third of a degree warmer than the previous decade, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.On Friday the bureau released its annual climate statement, confirming preliminary data previously reported by the...

Flash flooding leaves some rural NSW communities isolated as 1,400 houses left without power in QueenslandFast-moving thunderstorms have lashed much of eastern NSW including Sydney, felling trees and causing flash flooding that has left some rural communities isolated. By 6.15pm on Monday the State Emergency Service had responded to 281 call-outs across the state, the majority for trees down, leaking roofs and requests for...

Mallee, Wimmera and NSW Riverina on alert after blaze breaks out south of Murray RiverAn extreme fire warning has been issued for the Mallee and Wimmera districts in Victoria, as wild weather battered Melbourne on Sunday.The Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) on Sunday noted extreme fire danger ratings for the Mallee and the Wimmera and severe fire danger warnings for the northern country and north...

Heavy rain and flash flooding forecast for northern rivers region; Chinese authorities defend coal ban as legal and ‘responsible’; and aged care given $1bn boost. Follow the latest updates • Follow coronavirus global news live 11.31pm GMT In other vaccine news, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be voting on whether to approve the Moderna vaccine tomorrow.The Moderna vaccine is similar to...

Residents from Condong, Tumbulgum and surrounding areas have been ordered to leave as authorities fear floodwaters may cut off vital roadsFlood warnings have been issued for towns across northern New South Wales as heavy rains and abnormally high tides continue to batter a 500-kilometre stretch of coast from Taree to the border town of Tweed Heads.The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday afternoon issued a...

Authorities warn of further flooding and coastal erosion; China-state owned media reports power stations have been told not to buy Australian coal. Follow the latest updates• Byron Bay beach damage ‘worst in a generation’ as storms batter coastline• Coronavirus global news live: UK reports 232 further Covid deaths 8.26pm GMT Australia’s role as a major coal supplier to China looks set to end with...

Heavy rain, high tides and wild surf have caused flash flooding in Queensland and New South Wales with more storms forecastByron Bay locals say damage to the town’s main beach is “the worst in a generation” as heavy rain, abnormally high tides and wild surf, combined with longterm erosion problems, washed away much of the remaining sand.Storms have battered a 1,000km stretch of the...

Authorities receive hundreds of calls for help as people urged to brace for more heavy rain, gales and king tides from Port Macquarie to Fraser Island Heavy rain across south-east Queensland and north of New South Wales has prompted flash flooding warnings as authorities answer hundreds of calls for help and warn of more bad weather to come.Some areas in the Gold Coast and...

Residents of Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts warned to prepare for a month’s worth of rain in less than a daySouth-east Queenslanders have been urged to prepare their homes and rethink travel with a month’s worth of rain tipped to fall in less than a day.Up to 150mm of rain was forecast for Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts by Monday,...

Temperatures to hit 40 in Adelaide on Friday as NSW braces for scorching weekend weatherA total fire ban has been declared in districts across South Australia, as the south and east coasts of the country brace for a heatwave.Temperatures are expected to soar to 40C and higher in some South Australian regional centres, with an extreme bushfire risk declared for the Adelaide Hills. Continue...

Cars make up 60% of the claims but roofs, skylights and solar panels were damaged tooA catastrophe has been declared in Queensland, with insurers inundated with hailstorm damage claims.Severe thunderstorms hammered the state’s south-east on Saturday, dropping tennis ball-sized hail on some areas. Continue reading...

Weather bureau warns of severe thunderstorms along Australia’s east coast as well as inlandQueensland has been hit with tennis ball-sized hailstones as dangerous supercell thunderstorms raced across the state’s south-east.Severe thunderstorms formed along the Great Dividing Range and were pushing towards the coast from the New South Wales border to areas north of the Sunshine Coast. Continue reading...

Climate crisis exacerbates extreme weather during natural events, say expertsLa Niña climate event is under way, heralding a colder and stormier winter than usual across the northern hemisphere, but 2020 remains likely to be one of the warmest years on record.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has declared La Niña event – a cooling of surface ocean water along the Pacific coast of the South...

Bureau of meteorology says strong south-easterlies could be sending the smell of the sea across the suburbsA salty smell has wafted over Sydney and coastal New South Wales, as residents who live kilometres from the coast reported a strong sea aroma on Friday morning.On a drizzly morning ahead of forecast thunderstorms, residents from Sydney’s beaches to its inner suburbs and down to coastal towns...

Heavy rainfall is forecast to fall on areas burnt out last summer, as well as along much of the state’s coastlineOne of the New South Wales communities badly affected by bushfires last summer is expected to cop the brunt of an intense weather event this week.Heavy rainfall, strong winds and dangerous surf are forecast for large parts of NSW in coming days. Continue reading...

Aircraft chief describes frustration at losing vital time while inquiry also told firefighter radios in different areas ‘largely incompatible’Pilots flying water-bombing aircraft are “consistently tasked too late for fires” and sit idle on the tarmac until conditions worsen, the royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements has been told.The inquiry also heard that the radio networks used by firefighting agencies in each jurisdiction are...

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga expected to bring 100km/h winds, heavy rain and massive waves along a 3,000km stretch of coastA massive “once-in-a-decade” storm is expected to hit Australia’s entire west coast on Sunday and Monday, bringing potentially dangerous conditions and prompting authorities to place defence force units on standby.The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm – the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Mangga combined with a...