How to tell the new season is starting, according to the Noongar people of WA

After the blistering heat of summer, many welcomed March 1 as the start of autumn’s cooler nights and mild days.

In WA’s South-West, the local Indigenous people also say a new season is beginning — but not because the calendar has ticked over into March.

With the first three weeks of March this year bringing heavy rain that tripled monthly averages in the space of hours, a string of warm nights not experienced in a decade, and a weekend of 37 degree days in the city, it’s clear that there has been a change.

Signs of the new season

The season of Djeran, typically experienced over April and May, is one of the six Noongar seasons.

The others are Birak (December…