It's only the second July federal election in Australian history - but the weather signs are good.

Prospects are improving for a wetter-than-average spring for coastal NSW but the shift away from the recent dry spell may not occur until later in the season, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

Air quality deteriorated to poor and hazardous levels in some parts of Sydney on Thursday morning as controlled burns gave the city the distinctive smell of burning Australian bush. 

New plans for a $1.3 billion upgrade of Cleveland's new entry to North Stradbroke Island protects roosting areas, but not feeding grounds for shorebirds say Birdlife Australia.

Waking to 20cm of fresh snow, 10-year-old Brooke Stanton was ready for her first snowball fight of the day as the sun rose over Oberon, lighting up a town blanketed with its heaviest snowfall "in 40 years". 

Tropical Cyclone Zena weakened and moved quickly over Fiji without causing significant damage during the early hours of Thursday,

Extreme rainfall events in Sydney are on the increase, particularly during summer, a new report finds, while engineers are set to be given new guidelines to adjust for the flood impacts of climate change.

Still plenty of winter left to get a winning picture in for your chance to win a prizes in the photo competition.

Heavy snowfalls over the central ranges all the way up to New England caused traffic chaos on NSW roads on Friday, a day when even Queenslanders woke to a blanket of white.

Travellers escaping on Christmas holidays are facing delays, with domestic airlines cancelling or delaying dozens of flights from Sydney Airport on Friday evening.

The El Nino weather pattern continues to consolidate in the Pacific with most climate models indicating it will extend well into next year, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The chances of a powerful El Nino event this year have just been raised by the tropical cyclones forming in the western Pacific.

In good news for all except hay-fever sufferers, Victoria's weather is finally starting to shed its winter coat for spring.

Water has started spilling over the Warragamba Dam wall for the first time since 2013, but the flood threat for low-lying areas along the Nepean River has been revised downwards.

Canberra is in for some above-average warmth as the weekend nears but the odd shower and a touch of cloud will rain on an otherwise sunny parade.

Global temperatures leapt in February, lifting warming from pre-industrial levels to beyond 1.5 degrees, and stoking concerns about a "climate emergency".

National late-season records may tumble as the endless summer rolls deep into autumn.

Bitcoin provokes intense debate but one thing everyone agrees on is that it has become a staggering producer of climate wrecking carbon dioxide.

Air pollution from NSW's five coal-fired power stations carry a "substantial health burden", including leading to an estimated 279 deaths a year with thousands more to come before they close.

Three motorists have died in the floodwaters following the NSW storms.

Homes on Sydney's northern beaches have been partially washed away in the violent storms that battered the NSW coastline over the weekend.

The rainy weather may have forced most Canberrans to spend the weekend indoors, but when the clouds clear snow-seekers can look forward to the first big snowfalls of the season thanks to a cool change expected later in the week.

Tired of the rain? Get used to it - as four grey and wet days settle in over the city.

Large swaths of India were baking again Wednesday under intense heat that has killed more than 1,300 people and left the government scrambling to warn an often unheeding population about the dangers of stepping outside in the blazing midday sun.

You survived Melbourne's hot summer? Expect Autumn to be wet. But first, we have to get through March, which is looking like a scorcher.