Sydney records muggiest day on record, as Thursday’s dew point breaking previous highs

Residents of one major city suffered through sweltering weather with the official measure of mugginess surpassing records set in 2011.

Sydney recorded its most humid day on record, with the peak dew point at a CBD weather station nearly 8C higher than the January average.

Observations of the dew point – the temperature in which air must be cooled to produce dew – at the Sydney Observatory Hill weather station revealed it peaked at 26C at 12.40pm Thursday, after reaching 24.6C at 9am, meteorologists have said.

The previous record was set on November 14, 2011, where the dew point reached 25.9C.

The measure indicates how much moisture is in the air, with a higher dew point indicative of more atmospheric moisture, and humid conditions.

On an average day in January, the dew point hits merely 16.6C by 9am.

Thursday’s dew point at the CBD weather station surpassed records previously set in 2011. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Damian Shaw

Early Friday morning numbers showed that by 6am, the dew point was 23.2C, indicating that Sydneysiders were in for another humid day.

According to WeatherZone, onshore winds carrying in abnormally warn water around the NSW coastline can be blamed for the muggy temperatures, with the high dew points making the temperature feel up to 5C warmer than it is.

Sydney’s Friday forecast predicts partly cloud skies and a maximum of 29C with a medium chance (40 per cent) of rain.

Minor flood warnings are still in place for the Paroo River at Willara Crossing, and the Warrego River – both bodies of water within the Murray–Darling basin.

Most of the state is also under a moderate fire warning, with the exception of the Northern Slopes area, which affects the local council areas of Gunnedah, Gwydir, Inverell, Liverpool Plains, and Tamworth.