Meteorologist Mike Coughlan said previous record hot years in 1988, 1998 and 2002 were caused by El Nino events, where warmer waters in the South West Pacific lead to lower rainfall and hotter weather in Australia. But there was no El Nino in 2005.

"So we can't blame El Nino. The strong culprit has to be global warming," Coughlan told Reuters. "The 2005 record is yet another sign that our climate is changing."

The Bureau of Meteorology report came ahead of next week's climate meeting of senior ministers from Australia, the United States, Japan, China, India and South Korea.

The inaugural gathering of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate in Sydney aims to promote cleaner technologies to curb the emission of greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels in cars, power stations and industry.

Australian temperatures have risen by about 0.9 degree Celsius since 1910. Coughlan said a rise of one degree Celsius was equivalent to Australia moving north by about 100 km (60 miles).

He said preliminary data from the World Meteorological Organization found the 2005 global mean temperature was about 0.48 degree Celsius above normal, making 2005 among the four hottest years since records were first kept in 1861.

Total average rainfall in Australia was about 399 mm (15.7 inches) in 2005 compared to a long-term average of 472 mm. The January to May period was the second driest on record, but rainfall reverted to average levels in the second half.

Coughlan said there was nothing to suggest the hotter 2005 would lead to above average temperatures in 2006.

WATER WORRIES

In Australia's largest city, Sydney, dams are at 42 percent capacity after four years of drought, up marginally from a record low of 37.9 percent in June 2005.

Sydneysiders face stiff fines for using hoses to water gardens, wash cars or fill pools without permission.

The Sydney Catchment Authority, which provides water to more than four million people in and around Sydney, said higher long-term temperatures could have an impact on water supplies, particularly with higher evaporation from the parched dams.

"Climate change is clearly a reality and something that needs to be planned for," authority spokeswoman Debbie Low told Reuters, adding the authority was examining desalination, more water recycling and transferring water from other catchments.

She said evaporation on hot, dry days, could lead to the loss of up to 750 megalitres (200 million US gallons) of water a day, or about half of Sydney's daily water consumption.

The member nations of the new Asia-Pacific partnership represent 48 percent of world energy consumption and 48 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

The United States, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and Australia have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which sets targets for cutting carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions. Australia's Environment Minister Ian Campbell said the latest data on Australia's weather proved countries needed to work together on cleaner technology.

"It is a huge and serious challenge. These figures add to the weight of evidence that climate change is real and it's a problem that the world needs to work together to seek to solve," Campbell told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.