Alpine areas also experience record-breaking heat with snow depth recorded at zero in Kosciuszko national park

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Australia had its second hottest September on record last month as global heating and a strengthening El Niño combined to break a string of heat records around the country.

Bureau of Meteorology data showed the minimum night-time temperatures across the continent were also the hottest for any September, on a record that goes back to 1910. Averaged temperatures ranked in the top five warmest Septembers for every state, and the sixth hottest for the Northern Territory.