BBC: Australia has recorded its third-warmest calendar year since national records began in 1910, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says.
Frequent heatwaves and a marked reduction in cold weather characterised 2014, the Bureau said.
Mean temperatures were 0.91C above the long-term average in 2014, the BOM said.
The news comes as South Australia is facing some of the worst bushfires in the region in decades.
Firefighters are battling to contain a major blaze in the hills behind the city of Adelaide...