Yes could be a driving factor - SST's over past year or so in Indian Ocean have been exceptionally warm some 2-3c above average hence why there was such hot dry weather in SE Australia and hence the wildfires and this has occurred for several summers now (our winters!) which have coincided with very mild winters here.
Maybe we need to start looking at the SST's in the Indian Ocean in more detail (to determine our weather!) instead of just the pacific ENSO region and/or N, Atlantic!?
Originally Posted by: tallyho_83