During DEC-24, the equatorial Pacific Ocean to the east of the Dateline produced a sharp drop in upper ocean heat. The observation is by far the coolest of 2024, a year when La Nina has struggled to develop. The dramatic subsurface cooling coupled with increased trade winds helped the Nino34 SSTA surge to a moderate-strength La Nina-like value of -1.1C Christmas Week. However, since that time waters have warmed slightly.

The Southeast Coastal Region of Australia was very dry in both DEC-24 and OCT/NOV/DEC-24. Otherwise, precipitation has averaged above normal to excessively wet across many parts of the continent during that time. Helping to aggravate the Coastal Southeast Drought is anomalous warmth during Q4/2024 which became somewhat hotter than normal for East-central and Southeast Australia during DEC-24. The anomalous heat accelerated the drying of soil. Consequently, a massive bushfire regime has developed from Victoria to New South Wales.