March was the hottest month ever recorded in Australia

March was the hottest on record for Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology says, but a wet end to the month saved it from being the driest.

Source: AAP

Australia has sweltered through its hottest March on record.

The national mean temperature was 27.7C, making it 2.13C above average according to The Bureau of Meteorology's monthly climate report.

It was particularly warm in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, both of which posted their hottest March on record, while it was among the six warmest for NSW, Queensland and South Australia.

In Rabbit Flat, northwest of Alice Springs, temperatures reached at least 39C for 115 straight days between December 1 and March 25 - smashing the previous record of 106 days at Marble Bar in WA in 1921-22.

As climate change threatens Australian trees, it’s important to identify which are at risk. Source: AAP

A "vigorous trough" and cold front across southern Australia cooled temperatures down towards the end of the month, the report said.

Rainfall for March was above-average for large areas of eastern Australia and parts of the west, partly thanks to tropical cyclones Trevor and Veronica.