Air Quality Monitoring Network Ozone episodes in Summer 2018–19

Summer 2018-19 was the hottest on record across NSW, with temperatures well above average in Sydney and across the State. Several heatwaves occurred during December 2018 and January 2019. The Sydney region recorded the highest number of days over the ozone national standards in 2018–19 since the 2006–07 warm season. This newsletter provides an overview of the seasonal conditions, comparisons to earlier summers and case studies of ozone episodes that occurred in summer 2018–19. There were similarities in the meteorological conditions on many of the episode days, with high temperatures (greater than 35 °C), similar synoptic conditions, stable conditions limiting atmospheric dispersion, and sea breeze formation typically travelling toward south west Sydney.