Sydney beats 1950 rainfall record with three wet months to spare

Sydney has notched up its wettest year in more than 160 years of records (Mark Baker/AP)

Australia’s largest city, Sydney, has been soaked by its wettest year on record with almost three months of expected above-average rain to spare.

The city of five million people beat its 1950 record of 2,194mm (86.4 inches) at 12.30pm on Thursday after 27.2mm (1.07in) of rain fell at the Observatory Hill rain gauge during the morning, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said. Records at Observatory Hill go back to 1859.