Scorching weather in Australia

Extreme weather for SE Australia: High temps prompt fire bans, train cancellations

Australia's south-east sweltered today with more than a dozen fire bans in place across South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania

ABC,

19 December, 2013

Hot winds filtered further east across the country, with the peak of the heat spreading from Adelaide to Canberra.

Hottest Australian days on record

SA	50.7C	January 2, 1960	Oodnadatta
WA	50.5C	February 19, 1998	Mardie
NSW	49.7C	January 10, 1939	Menindee
Qld	49.5C	December 24, 1972	Birdsville
Vic	48.8C	February 7, 2009	Hopetoun
NT	48.3C	Jan 1 and 2, 1960	Finke
Tas	42.2C	January 30, 2009	Scamander

Bureau of Meteorology

There has been an extreme heat warning for South Australia today and 12 out of 15 districts have been issued with a total fire ban.

In Adelaide, temperatures nudged the predicted 43 degrees Celsius today.

A sleepless night also looks likely, with the temperature tipped to be in the mid-30s around midnight.

Fire authorities warn conditions will be dangerous, with strong winds forecast.

Country Fire Service (CFS) officer Mick Ayre says people need to be ready to leave properties if fires break out.

"We would ask the communities ... to take extra care and there is a fire ban for the Adelaide metropolitan area as well," he said.

"We're asking people to review their bushfire survival plan and take any steps that they think are necessary to prevent fire."

Firefighters are working to strengthen containment lines around a blaze in the Rockleigh area, north of Monarto, which started yesterday.

Melbourne derailed as city heats up

Melbourne has already reached its forecast maximum of 40C, forcing the cancellation of 16 metropolitan train services.

AUDIO: US data reveals hottest November on record (AM)

Rail operator Metro applies a speed restriction to its services when the temperatures go above 38C.

There is also a total fire ban in place for Victoria's Mallee, Wimmera and Northern Country forecast districts.

The temperature topped 40C before midday at Walpeup and Hopetoun Airport in the state's north-west.

Those heading to the beach have been warned to take extra care.

Life Saving Victoria says children should always be supervised around the water and it is important to swim between the flags.

Tasmanians urged to review bushfire plans

Authorities in Tasmania are urging residents to take precautions against today's hot spell and high fire danger.

A total fire ban was issued for the state's south until midnight, with Hobart hitting 30.6 degrees Celsius.

The director of public health, Dr Roscoe Taylor, urged Tasmanians to keep in touch with elderly or sick relatives and know the signs of heat-related illness.

"Minimise exposure to the sun as much as possible and if people go outside, wear sun-protective gear," he said.

He says it is also important to stay hydrated and think about the health of pets.

Hobart can expect a cool, southerly change in the late afternoon and into the night.

Last November was hottest worldwide since records began

The US climatic data centre says last month was the hottest November globally since records began 133 years ago.

Chief of the centre's climate-monitoring branch Deke Arndt says Australia was slightly warmer than normal.

"It wasn't quite as warm as many of the other land areas but according to the bureau, it did come in above normal and that was reflected in our analysis as well," he told the ABC's AM program.

"This happened to be kind of the culmination of a really, really prolonged season of warmer-than-normal temperatures in many of the world's oceans, particularly the Pacific and Indian Ocean."

"The other factor that's playing in is the long-term warming.

"So the planet is getting warmer over time and when you have a long-term signal and then a single month where the weather conditions set up right for warmth on top of that long-term signal, those are the types of months that you're going to see threatening and breaking records."