After hours of rain on Thursday, the biggest city in Australia, Sydney has reportedly recorded its wettest year since records started 164 years ago.

By Thursday afternoon, total rainfall in the city surpassed 2,213mm (87 inches), breaking the previously set record of 2,194mm (86 inches) in 1950, as per official data. There are still about 86 days left in 2022.

According to the statistics of the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), over 58mm (2 inches) of rainfall was recorded in the five hours starting at 9 am (22:00 GMT, Wednesday), with authorities preparing for catastrophic floods in eastern Australia and additional heavy downpours over the next three days.

For the last three years, Australia's eastern coast has been experiencing significant rains due to the La Nina weather pattern.

A La Nina phenomenon warms up the temperature of the western Pacific, increasing cloud and rain patterns over eastern Australia.

Three times in the past two years, Sydney's expansive western suburbs have experienced significant flooding, and the city and other regions of New South Wales are preparing for additional disruption.

The state is aware that the rivers are already overflowing, dams are full, and the catchments are flooded. Steph Cooke, the state’s emergency services minister, stated that any extra rainfall will likely make the flooding situation worse and can pose a threat of flash flooding.

To help avert future floods, NSW plans to increase the wall’s height at Sydney’s Warragamba Dam, which provides 80% of the local water supply.

Television footage displays several flooded small inland villages in the state, damaged roadways, and locals transferring farm animals to higher elevations.

Emergency responders in New South Wales reported that 47 flood warnings were in effect throughout the state.

Australia is at the vanguard of climate change, with researchers warning that the nation's climate will change due to the planet's warming, making it hotter, drier, and more prone to extreme weather conditions.

Source credit: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/6/sydney-records-wettest-year-since-records-began-in-1858