Tasmania’s Record High Pressure and Weather Impact

A weather station in Sheffield, Tasmania, has measured a preliminary new Australian record for atmospheric pressure at 1,044.6 hectopascals (hPa), surpassing the previous record from 1967. This high-pressure system has led to extreme low overnight temperatures in southeast states and prolonged showery conditions along the eastern seaboard. The Bureau of Meteorology expects this pressure to drop sea levels by about 30 centimeters in the affected areas. The high-pressure system is unusually broad, influencing weather over a vast area from Fiji to Western Australia. While such pressure levels are rare for Australia, they are common in regions like eastern Russia. The occurrence illustrates a trend of increasing frequency and intensity of high-pressure systems, potentially linked to climate change.