Sydney has officially seen enough rainfall for meteorologists to declare 2022 the Australian city’s wettest year on record on Thursday.

As more than 27 millimetres of rain fell at Sydney’s Observatory Hill Bureau of Meteorology station between 9:00 a.m. (2200 GMT) and 12:30 p.m., the rainfall officially reached a total of 2,199.8 millimetres in the year to 1:10 p.m., Australian media reported.

The previous annual record was set in 1950 when 2,194 millimetres of rain were recorded year-on-year, news agency AAP reported citing the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

More heavy rainfall is expected before the year’s end.

There were numerous flood warnings in Australia’s eastern state of New South Wales, including in the famous Hunter Valley wine region and the Sydney metropolitan area.

The state’s emergency authorities said rainfall was expected to reach the usual monthly amount in several days in some parts of the state.

Australia’s east coast has been hit by exceptionally heavy rain and flooding several times already this year.

In early July, parts of Sydney saw floodwaters reach several metres high.

There was also heavy flooding around Sydney and in large parts of New South Wales and Queensland in March.

It rained continuously in Sydney for more than two weeks.

At the time, meteorologists spoke of the wettest start to the year since weather records began in 1858. 

(dpa/NAN)