Australia endures hottest day on record with more to come
Heatwave has fuelled fires across the east of the country
Australia has endured its hottest day on record with the national average temperature soaring to a high of 40.9C (105.6F).
As the nation battles a severe drought and bushfire crisis, the Bureau of Meteorology said “extensive” heat yesterday tipped the mercury past the previous record of 40.3C set on 7 January 2013.
"This hot air mass is so extensive, that preliminary figures show that yesterday was the hottest day on record in Australia," meteorologist Diana Eadie told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, has warned the state is facing a “difficult few days” with forecast conditions likely to cause havoc with large, uncontrolled fires burning across the state.
The record is also set to be broken again, with forecasters predicting the most intense heat would come later in the week. The small outback town of Oodnadatta in South Australia is forecast to peak at around 47C (116.6F) today.
With the heatwave expected to move to South Australia during the next few days, it will also hit Victoria and Queensland.
Temperatures are predicted to be as much as 20C above average this year, with sparsely populated areas potentially exceeding 50C.
Recent hot weather has fuelled fires that have been ravaging Australia’s east for weeks, says Sky News. Six people have died in the fires, while more than 680 homes have been destroyed and around three million acres of bushland burned.
Stuff says that global warming is causing heatwaves to be “hotter, drier, more likely to occur and longer-lasting, and fires are becoming more likely to grow into large blazes and exhibit extreme behaviour that makes them difficult to control”.
Meanwhile, The Guardian says the Australian wine industry is suffering “ominous” start to the growing season, due to the conditions in South Australia and Victoria. The industry fears that grapes could become tainted by smoke.
“I think there’s a good chance they will have smoke taint,” said one expert. “They are looking to be the most affected of the major wine growing regions.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has spread to Africa
The Explainer Ukraine is attempting to strengthen its alliances on the continent to counter Russia's growing presence
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Can the world really wean itself off coal?
Today's Big Question 'Record' global consumption is set to fall soon but growing demand in China and India could increase tensions
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The microplastics hurricanes blowing across North America
Under the Radar New research confirms global pervasiveness of harmful microplastic pollution
By The Week Staff Published
-
What can Cop28 really achieve?
Today's Big Question Climate summit in UAE proves controversial as UN warns world is falling short of global warming targets
By The Week UK Published
-
A23a: why world's biggest iceberg is on the move
The Explainer The mass of ice is four times the size of New York and 'essentially' an island
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Libya floods: death toll set to rise with 10,000 reported missing
More than 6,000 people reported dead, with hundreds of bodies still washing ashore
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
Thousands feared dead in catastrophic Libya flooding
Speed Read A powerful Mediterranean storm pummeled Libya's northeast coast, wiping out entire neighborhoods
By Peter Weber Published
-
The hottest July: America’s Southwest boils in the heat
feature Phoenix residents have suffered burns after falling on the city’s scalding roads
By The Week Staff Published