Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021

Name: Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021
Start: 2021-03-28
End: 2021-04-07
Location: Australia

Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021: 133 records at 41 stations, peak on 29 March 2021. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-17. Last revised 17 October 2026 (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021 set or tied 133 station records at 41 stations.
It ran from 28 March 2021 to 7 April 2021 (11 days) and its peak day was 29 March 2021.
Status: closed.
Salmon Gums Res.STN. set a monthly record high minimum temperature of 26.2 C (79.2 F) on 30 March 2021.
The busiest day was 29 March 2021 with 35 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 104 years.

Footprint

28 March to 7 April 2021

The area covered by Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021 is outlined, with 12 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Salmon Gums Res.STN.	Record high minimum temperature	26.2 C (79.2 F)	2021-03-30
Kellerberrin	Record high maximum temperature	39.5 C (103.1 F)	2021-04-01
Albany	Record high minimum temperature	18.0 C (64.4 F)	2021-04-07
Narrogin	Record high maximum temperature	39.5 C (103.1 F)	2021-03-29
Northam	Record high minimum temperature	21.8 C (71.2 F)	2021-03-30
Mullewa	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	2021-03-29
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport	Record high minimum temperature	23.7 C (74.7 F)	2021-04-06
Ravensthorpe	Record high minimum temperature	24.0 C (75.2 F)	2021-03-30
Esperance Aero	Record high minimum temperature	26.3 C (79.3 F)	2021-03-30
Corrigin	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	2021-03-29
Wongan Hills	Record high maximum temperature	39.7 C (103.5 F)	2021-04-01
Pearce Raaf	Record high maximum temperature	41.8 C (107.2 F)	2021-03-29

Records per Day

Peak day 35

Records set or tied each day from 28 March 2021 to 7 April 2021. The most in one day was 35 on 29 March 2021.

Records per day during Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021
Date	Records
2021-03-28	5
2021-03-29	35
2021-03-30	31
2021-03-31	14
2021-04-01	13
2021-04-02	13
2021-04-03	4
2021-04-04	2
2021-04-05	3
2021-04-06	5
2021-04-07	8

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021 ranked by margin
Ravensthorpe, 03-30	6.8 C (12.2 F)
Ravensthorpe, 03-29	6.7 C (12.1 F)
Narrogin, 03-29	5.6 C (10.1 F)
Pearce Raaf, 03-29	4.6 C (8.3 F)
Salmon Gums Res.STN., 03-30	3.9 C (7.0 F)
Corrigin, 03-29	3.8 C (6.8 F)
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport, 04-06	3.4 C (6.1 F)
Salmon Gums Res.STN., 03-29	3.3 C (5.9 F)
Northam, 03-29	2.8 C (5.0 F)
Salmon Gums Res.STN., 04-01	2.6 C (4.7 F)
Mullewa, 03-29	1.7 C (3.1 F)
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport, 03-29	1.4 C (2.5 F)
Northam, 03-30	1.2 C (2.2 F)
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport, 04-01	0.7 C (1.3 F)
Salmon Gums Res.STN., 04-02	0.6 C (1.1 F)

Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.

Margin Against Age of the Broken Record

133 records plotted by how far they beat the old record (across) and how many years the old record had stood (up). Long standing records beaten by a wide margin sit in the top right.

Margin against age of the broken record in Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021
Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	87
0.3	82
0.6	76
0.1	104
5.6	51
2.6	76
3.3	67
1.2	70
1.7	67
3.4	50
0.3	26
6.8	18
0.7	76
3.9	51
0.5	48
2.8	51
3.8	51
6.7	40
1.4	67
4.6	36
3.9	51
5.5	40
4.1	51
1.7	51
1.1	62
1.5	59
4.4	43
0.8	32
4.5	19
0.2	42
0.5	64
2.8	40
2.9	36
4.8	18
2.1	51
1.8	50
3.6	36
4.1	36
5.2	36
3.3	38
4.4	32
4.2	32
3.8	40
1.5	55
0.3	56
0.2	56
0.1	48
5.9	28
1.5	48
4.3	36
1.5	51
1.1	51
3.3	40
0.1	48
0.8	50
1.1	51
0.3	55
0.1	51
0.8	51
0.8	51
0.5	40
2.4	38
2.7	36
0.1	36
1.9	36
3.6	18
1.5	32
0.1	51
2.8	16
1.0	38
3.3	32
5.2	20
0.3	48
0.9	7
1.6	36
3.3	19
2.5	32
0.6	44
1.6	36
4.1	15
2.2	0
1.8	36
0.2	40
0.5	7
1.2	35
1.4	34
2.7	32
3.5	8
1.1	36
0.8	14
6.7	6
0.7	36
0.4	40
0.7	36
1.2	32
1.0	32
0.7	31
4.6	8
0.7	31
0.8	32
5.7	7
0.7	35
3.2	20
1.5	19
1.9	23
4.2	7
1.2	31
3.9	8
0.4	32
1.1	24
3.6	19
1.2	35
0.1	20
1.3	23
0.7	8
0.4	10
0.3	28
1.0	19
0.1	31
0.6	32
0.6	20
0.1	28
3.2	0
2.8	7
0.2	12
1.2	14
0.6	16
0.7	10
1.5	3
0.1	14
1.2	2
0.5	2
0.2	2

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021 compared with similar events
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 16 January to 14 February 2024	9,869 records
Heat wave in United States, 28 January to 24 February 2026	6,528 records
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 24 May to 19 June 2020	5,047 records
Heat wave in United States and Mexico, 26 March to 17 April 2021	3,669 records
Heat wave in Germany and 49 other countries, 18 December 2021 to 15 January 2022	3,626 records
Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021 (this event)	133 records

Every Record Set

20 of 133

Every record set or tied during Heat wave in Australia, 28 March to 7 April 2021, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2021-03-29	Narrogin	Record high maximum temperature	39.5 C (103.1 F)	5.6 C (10.1 F)	51	37 of 100 (Notable)
2021-03-29	Salmon Gums Res.STN.	Record high maximum temperature	39.4 C (102.9 F)	3.3 C (5.9 F)	67	35 of 100 (Notable)
2021-03-29	Mullewa	Record high maximum temperature	40.6 C (105.1 F)	1.7 C (3.1 F)	67	32 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-29	Northam	Record high maximum temperature	41.1 C (106.0 F)	2.8 C (5.0 F)	51	30 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-29	Corrigin	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	3.8 C (6.8 F)	51	30 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-29	Ravensthorpe	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	6.7 C (12.1 F)	40	30 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-29	Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport	Record high maximum temperature	38.7 C (101.7 F)	1.4 C (2.5 F)	67	30 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-29	Pearce Raaf	Record high maximum temperature	41.8 C (107.2 F)	4.6 C (8.3 F)	36	28 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-30	Salmon Gums Res.STN.	Record high minimum temperature	26.2 C (79.2 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	87	45 of 100 (Notable)
2021-03-30	Northam	Record high minimum temperature	21.8 C (71.2 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	70	34 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-30	Esperance Aero	Record high minimum temperature	26.3 C (79.3 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	26	31 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-30	Ravensthorpe	Record high minimum temperature	24.0 C (75.2 F)	6.8 C (12.2 F)	18	31 of 100 (Routine)
2021-03-30	Salmon Gums Res.STN.	Record high maximum temperature	40.0 C (104.0 F)	3.9 C (7.0 F)	51	31 of 100 (Routine)
2021-04-01	Kellerberrin	Record high maximum temperature	39.5 C (103.1 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	82	44 of 100 (Notable)
2021-04-01	Salmon Gums Res.STN.	Record high maximum temperature	38.4 C (101.1 F)	2.6 C (4.7 F)	76	36 of 100 (Notable)
2021-04-01	Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport	Record high maximum temperature	37.4 C (99.3 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	76	31 of 100 (Routine)
2021-04-01	Wongan Hills	Record high maximum temperature	39.7 C (103.5 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	48	30 of 100 (Routine)
2021-04-02	Salmon Gums Res.STN.	Record high maximum temperature	39.5 C (103.1 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	76	42 of 100 (Notable)
2021-04-06	Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport	Record high minimum temperature	23.7 C (74.7 F)	3.4 C (6.1 F)	50	32 of 100 (Routine)
2021-04-07	Albany	Record high minimum temperature	18.0 C (64.4 F)	0.1 C (0.2 F)	104	40 of 100 (Notable)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 133 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Download the Data

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	87
0.3	82
0.6	76
0.1	104
5.6	51
2.6	76
3.3	67
1.2	70
1.7	67
3.4	50
0.3	26
6.8	18
0.7	76
3.9	51
0.5	48
2.8	51
3.8	51
6.7	40
1.4	67
4.6	36
3.9	51
5.5	40
4.1	51
1.7	51
1.1	62
1.5	59
4.4	43
0.8	32
4.5	19
0.2	42
0.5	64
2.8	40
2.9	36
4.8	18
2.1	51
1.8	50
3.6	36
4.1	36
5.2	36
3.3	38
4.4	32
4.2	32
3.8	40
1.5	55
0.3	56
0.2	56
0.1	48
5.9	28
1.5	48
4.3	36
1.5	51
1.1	51
3.3	40
0.1	48
0.8	50
1.1	51
0.3	55
0.1	51
0.8	51
0.8	51
0.5	40
2.4	38
2.7	36
0.1	36
1.9	36
3.6	18
1.5	32
0.1	51
2.8	16
1.0	38
3.3	32
5.2	20
0.3	48
0.9	7
1.6	36
3.3	19
2.5	32
0.6	44
1.6	36
4.1	15
2.2	0
1.8	36
0.2	40
0.5	7
1.2	35
1.4	34
2.7	32
3.5	8
1.1	36
0.8	14
6.7	6
0.7	36
0.4	40
0.7	36
1.2	32
1.0	32
0.7	31
4.6	8
0.7	31
0.8	32
5.7	7
0.7	35
3.2	20
1.5	19
1.9	23
4.2	7
1.2	31
3.9	8
0.4	32
1.1	24
3.6	19
1.2	35
0.1	20
1.3	23
0.7	8
0.4	10
0.3	28
1.0	19
0.1	31
0.6	32
0.6	20
0.1	28
3.2	0
2.8	7
0.2	12
1.2	14
0.6	16
0.7	10
1.5	3
0.1	14
1.2	2
0.5	2
0.2	2

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.1	87
0.3	82
0.6	76
0.1	104
5.6	51
2.6	76
3.3	67
1.2	70
1.7	67
3.4	50
0.3	26
6.8	18
0.7	76
3.9	51
0.5	48
2.8	51
3.8	51
6.7	40
1.4	67
4.6	36
3.9	51
5.5	40
4.1	51
1.7	51
1.1	62
1.5	59
4.4	43
0.8	32
4.5	19
0.2	42
0.5	64
2.8	40
2.9	36
4.8	18
2.1	51
1.8	50
3.6	36
4.1	36
5.2	36
3.3	38
4.4	32
4.2	32
3.8	40
1.5	55
0.3	56
0.2	56
0.1	48
5.9	28
1.5	48
4.3	36
1.5	51
1.1	51
3.3	40
0.1	48
0.8	50
1.1	51
0.3	55
0.1	51
0.8	51
0.8	51
0.5	40
2.4	38
2.7	36
0.1	36
1.9	36
3.6	18
1.5	32
0.1	51
2.8	16
1.0	38
3.3	32
5.2	20
0.3	48
0.9	7
1.6	36
3.3	19
2.5	32
0.6	44
1.6	36
4.1	15
2.2	0
1.8	36
0.2	40
0.5	7
1.2	35
1.4	34
2.7	32
3.5	8
1.1	36
0.8	14
6.7	6
0.7	36
0.4	40
0.7	36
1.2	32
1.0	32
0.7	31
4.6	8
0.7	31
0.8	32
5.7	7
0.7	35
3.2	20
1.5	19
1.9	23
4.2	7
1.2	31
3.9	8
0.4	32
1.1	24
3.6	19
1.2	35
0.1	20
1.3	23
0.7	8
0.4	10
0.3	28
1.0	19
0.1	31
0.6	32
0.6	20
0.1	28
3.2	0
2.8	7
0.2	12
1.2	14
0.6	16
0.7	10
1.5	3
0.1	14
1.2	2
0.5	2
0.2	2