Given my teenage kids have had far more 43°C days (around 10) in their life than my father ever did (around 5), stats check out on the Watkins-generations-o-meter.

Often takes more than one wwb, especially when it’s so early in the year.

I’d be wary of a relatively rapid transition to El Niño in 2026 with conditions established earlier than in recent years. A hot year for the globe, and a hot/dry spring and early summer for Australia if this occurs.
Monitoring conditions closely is the best bet, as march-may is a key period

This is consistent with models from around the world, and slightly cooler than the leading ECMWF model.

The BoM’s relative NINO forecasts still suggest a decent gradient that would touch on El Niño levels by June.

Models suggest that heat will move east and come to the surface in the second quarter of 2026, but parts of the western pacific may remain warm, which may slow the atmospheric response

And….
In the year of my birth, 1969 (and indeed all of the 1960s), the globes hottest day was cooler than the globes coldest day in 2025.

Crikey!

And then the sun turning bright red at about 7pm.
No filter used... thats raw colour

This was my view from Ricketts Point (Beaumaris, 20km from Melb) as i was packing up my windsurfing gear, at about 6pm