Editing Western Australia (section)

===Climate===
[[File:Western Australia Köppen.svg|left|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] in Western Australia]]
The [[Southwest corner of Western Australia|southwest coastal area]] has a [[Mediterranean climate]]. It was originally heavily forested, including large stands of [[karri]], one of the [[List of tallest trees|tallest trees]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate of Western Australia |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/ausclimwa.htm |access-date=6 December 2009 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090317054300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/96122/20090317-1643/www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/ausclimwa.html |archive-date=17 March 2009}} {{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, with a higher proportion of [[endemic species]] than most other equivalent regions. Thanks to the offshore [[Leeuwin Current]], the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly [[coral reef]]s in the world.

Average annual rainfall varies from 300 millimetres (12&nbsp;in) at the edge of the [[Wheatbelt (Western Australia)|Wheatbelt]] region to 1,400 millimetres (55&nbsp;in) in the wettest areas near [[Northcliffe, Western Australia|Northcliffe]], but from November to March, evaporation exceeds rainfall, and it is generally very dry. Plants are adapted to this as well as the extreme poverty of all soils.

The central two-thirds of the state is [[arid]] and sparsely inhabited. The only significant economic activity is mining. Annual rainfall averages less than 300 millimetres (8–10&nbsp;in), most of which occurs in sporadic torrential falls related to cyclone events in summer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/rainfall/index.jsp |title=Average annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology |date=26 October 2011 |access-date=1 June 2014 }}</ref>

An exception to this is the northern tropical regions. The [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] has an extremely hot [[Australian monsoon|monsoonal climate]] with average annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 1,500 millimetres (20–60&nbsp;in), but there is a very long almost rainless season from April to November. Eighty-five percent of the state's [[runoff (water)|runoff]] occurs in the Kimberley, but because it occurs in violent floods and because of the insurmountable poverty of the generally shallow soils, the only development has taken place along the [[Ord River]].

Snow is rare in the state and typically occurs only in the [[Stirling Range]] near [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]], as it is the only mountain range far enough south and sufficiently elevated. More rarely, snow can fall on the nearby [[Porongurup National Park|Porongurup Range]]. Snow outside these areas is a major event; it usually occurs in hilly areas of southwestern Australia. The most widespread low-level snow occurred on 26 June 1956 when snow was reported in the [[Perth Hills]], as far north as [[Wongan Hills, Western Australia|Wongan Hills]] and as far east as [[Salmon Gums, Western Australia|Salmon Gums]]. However, even in the Stirling Range, snowfalls rarely exceed {{convert|5|cm|0|abbr=on}} and rarely settle for more than one day.<ref>[http://www.feargod.net/wa-snow1.php Snow in Western Australia: About Snow in WA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511051459/http://www.feargod.net/wa-snow1.php |date=11 May 2011 }}. Retrieved 4 February 2007.</ref>

The highest observed temperature of 50.7&nbsp;°C (123.3&nbsp;°F) was recorded in [[Onslow, Western Australia|Onslow]] on 13 January 2022.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59977193|title=Australia equals hottest day on record at 50.7C |publisher=BBC |date=13 January 2022 |access-date=13 January 2022 }}</ref> The lowest temperature recorded was −7.2&nbsp;°C (19.0&nbsp;°F) at [[Eyre Bird Observatory]] on 17 August 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf|title=Rainfall and Temperature Records: National|publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology]]|access-date=14 November 2009}}</ref>

The [[South Geomagnetic Pole|south geomagnetic pole]] is currently tilted 10 degrees away from the [[South Pole]] towards Western Australia, allowing for [[aurora australis]] displays as far north as [[Geraldton]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Logan |first1=Tyne |title=Southern lights events expected to increase over next two years as sun reaches solar maximum |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-30/southern-lights-events-increase-australia/102281398 |newspaper=ABC News |date=29 April 2023 |access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Western Australia
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 50.7
|Feb record high C = 50.5
|Mar record high C = 48.1
|Apr record high C = 45.0
|May record high C = 40.6
|Jun record high C = 37.8
|Jul record high C = 38.3
|Aug record high C = 41.6
|Sep record high C = 43.1
|Oct record high C = 46.9
|Nov record high C = 48.0
|Dec record high C = 49.8
|Jan record low C = 0.9
|Feb record low C = 0.5
|Mar record low C = -0.8
|Apr record low C = -2.2
|May record low C = -5.6
|Jun record low C = -6.0
|Jul record low C = -6.7
|Aug record low C = -7.2
|Sep record low C = -5.1
|Oct record low C = -5.0
|Nov record low C = -2.1
|Dec record low C = 0.0
|source = [[Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Australian Daily Extremes Table |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/monthly_extremes.cgi?area=wa |website=Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref>
|date=November 2020
| source 2 = <ref name="BBC" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/Hitchy04/status/1828008763800113360|title=x.com|work=X (formerly Twitter) }}</ref>{{full citation needed |date=January 2025}}
}}