Temperature
anomaly in
Australia: Sandals and pavement are melting as extreme heatwave
scorches across Australia
28
December, 2018
Australia’s
post-Christmas heatwave continues to sweep across the country, with a
near record-breaking 49°C [120°F] forecast for Western Australia,
and fire danger, health and air quality warnings issued across the
nation.Temperature records have been broken as a heatwave continues
across the country and parts of South Australia are
expected to enter catastrophic fire conditions later on Friday.
Marble
Bar in north-western Western Australia broke its all-time heat record
on Thursday, reaching 49.3°C [120.7°F) as parts of SA and Victoria
issued bushfire warning, and extreme weather forecast to continue
into next week…
In
northern Victoria, Mildura had another day of temperatures in the
mid-40s, reaching 44°C on Thursday. In New South Wales, Menindee,
near Broken Hill, and Wentworth, near the Victorian border, peaked at
45°C.
The
highest warnings were in place for South Australia, which was
expecting temperatures of 48°C at Oak Valley, north of the Nullabor,
and 47°C at Port Augusta.
“The
previous December record is also 47°C from three years ago so we
might see some records tumble there today,” said Diana Eadie, a
meteorologist at the bureau.
Catastrophic
fire conditions
The
bureau forecast that catastrophic fire conditions could set in later
on Friday in parts of South Australia when strong southerly winds
were expected to hit the state.
The
mid-north fire ban district of South Australia, which takes in towns
including Clare, Snowtown, Burra and Jamestown, was on alert for
catastrophic fire conditions.
By
Friday morning, temperatures in Snowtown had already reached 38°C.
Five
other fire ban districts in the state – the west coast, the eastern
Eyre Peninsula, Flinders, the Yorke Peninsula and the Mount Lofty
Ranges – had extreme fire danger ratings and there were severe fire
danger ratings in place in three others.
The
South Australian Country Fire Service was warning residents in these
areas to be ready to enact their bushfire survival plans.
“It’s
won’t be a viable option in some parts of the state to stay and
defend today because conditions will be so bad,”
said Alison Martin, a spokeswoman for the fire service. “We’re
telling people to enact their bushfire survival plan early and, if
they need to leave, they need to do so before they see smoke and know
where they’re travelling to.”
In Victoria,
the Mallee and Wimmera regions had severe fire danger ratings on
Friday.
Temperatures
in much of the country were sitting at 5°C to 15°C above average
for this time of year, with only a few places escaping the heat.
Beachgoers
hoping to cool off in the sea were also advised to take care, after
four people drowned in coastal waters in two days on Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day.
Another
totally insane heat anomaly in Australia!
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