Multiple Queensland heat records have been broken for March, with some areas recording temperatures of more than 10 degrees above their average maximum.

Highs of 40C or more in the state’s south-east were recorded for the first time in March, with the town of Gatton reaching 40C on Monday and 41.1C on Tuesday, about 11 degrees above its average maximum temperature for the month.

Several other towns had record-breaking maximum temperatures for March on either Monday or Tuesday this week including Beaudesert (40.2C), Archerfield (40.2), Emerald (41.7C), Barcaldine (42.5) and Amberley (41.3C).

On Wednesday, Nambour in the state’s south-east broke its minimum temperature record for March, recording 24.9C.

Minimum temperature records also fell on Tuesday in Rolleston, at 25.3C, Roma, 26.4C, and Taroom, 26.7C.

The latest period of record-breaking heat follows months of record-breaking weather for Queensland, including a heatwave in November that caused mass deaths of wildlife and February’s devastating floods.

Elsewhere in the country, recent months have brought bushfires to world heritage forest areas and mass fish deaths caused by a combination of drought and over-extraction of water.

The bureau of meteorology said on Wednesday that the latest heatwave in Queensland was the result of an inland surface trough that was pulling hot air from the interior of the continent further east, combined with a lack of cold fronts from parts of the country further south.

“The main headline is the fact it’s the first time we’ve recored a 40C day in the south-east,” said Nicholas Shera, a meteorologist at the bureau. “It’s the highest temperature recorded in March in south-east Queensland.

“Some places have been 10 degrees above the March average.”

Cooler weather had begun to move into parts of the state on Wednesday. Shera said the bureau expected temperatures to be closer to March averages by the weekend.

The bureau’s long-term outlook for autumn is for hot and dry conditions to continue for much of the country.

It comes off the back of Australia’s hottest summer on record and the country’s hottest month ever in January when temperatures were 2.9C above the national average.