Horsham, Stawell, Ararat, Nhill, Edenhope and Warracknabeal all experienced warmer maximum temperatures than the long term average for their respective regions.

Ararat experienced the largest differential to the long term average, with 2018 1.7 degrees warmer. 

While Stawell’s 2018 maximum average was up by 0.7 of a degree from its long term average, the average high of 21.3 degrees for the calendar year was the equal second highest on record.

The top average temperature for a year for Stawell is 21.5 degrees in 2014.

Warracknabeal was up by 1.2 degrees while the other centres experienced warmer temperatures between 0.4 and 0.7 of a degree.

Warracknabeal also broke a record last year, with the maximum of 37.2 degrees on April 11 the hottest day during the fourth month of the year for the town since records have been kept.

Victoria had another year in the top 10 of all time, while nationally the figure is even more stark.

The country experienced its third hottest year in history and that’s a long-term trend unlikely to break any time soon as every year since 1978 has been above the 1961-90 average for mean temperatures.

All but one of the country's top 10 hottest years have occurred since 2005, a result "in line with long-term trends resulting from anthropogenic climate change", the Bureau of Meteorology said in its summary on 2018's national weather.

“Up until the middle of December, more than two-thirds of Australia was recording very much above average daytime temperatures for 2018,” it said. 

“Pockets of the nation, such as East Gippsland and inland northern NSW, were enduring their hottest year on record for maximums.”

Read more: Wimmera swelters through extreme heat

Across the world, temperatures are now about 1.1 degrees above the pre-industrial times.

Bureau of Meteorology climate monitoring manager Dr Karl Braganza said the warming trend in Australia was contributing to an increase in extreme fire weather and the length of the fire season.

"Fire weather in Australia is largely monitored using the Forest Fire Danger Index, which estimates fire danger on any given day,” he said.

“Monitoring of the FFDI shows there has been an increase in the frequency and severity of fire weather in recent decades.

"This trend in fire weather is particularly noticeable through southern and eastern parts of Australia."