Australia's March heatwave saw temperatures rise 9°C above average in Victoria and 7°C above average in NSW, and broke a nationwide weather record.

The heatwave, which hit most of Australia in late February and early March, was the focus of a newly released special Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) climate statement.

The abnormal heat developed over much of northern Australia and extended to cover almost all of the nation by March 2, with the most extreme part of the heatwave occurring on March 9-10, the statement said.

BoM recorded the hottest area-averaged March day for Australia on March 2 at 38.14°C – 0.98°C above the previous record.

Some temperature records were set in Queensland at the end of February, with Julia Creek recording 46.1°C, Winton recording 45.5°C and Longreach recording 44.4°C.

In the NT, the western border town of Walungurru set a record for the hottest March day, recording 44.4°C on March 3.

The heatwave in southeastern Australia was more notable for its duration rather than individual extremes, BoM said.

From March 1 to 9, Victorian temperatures were 9.23°C above average, and NSW temperatures were 7.35°C above average.

The Victorian town of Echuca experienced eight days in a row above 38 °C, from March 1-9.