Spectators stay in front of the mist fans to cool off from the hot weather on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 17, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

SYDNEY - Dry and warm weather is forecast across large chunks of Australia through the southern hemisphere winter and into spring, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday.

Hot and dry weather is associated with the El Nino weather pattern, which the bureau earlier this month said had a 70 percent chance of developing this year.

There is a 60% to 80% chance of maximum and minimum temperatures rising above the historic median across the country from July to September

There is a 60 percent to 80 percent chance of maximum and minimum temperatures rising above the historic median across the country from July to September, the bureau said.

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Below median rainfall is also "likely to very likely" across parts of eastern and western Australia over the same period, the bureau said, adding there was a 60 percent to 80 percent chance.

July is set to be an exception to the dry spell, with above median rainfall likely for much of the Northern Territory, Queensland and northern South Australia state.

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The forecast reflected a tropical Pacific Ocean warming beyond El Nino thresholds, record ocean temperatures globally and the potential development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, it said.