AUSTRALIA posted its hottest day on record yesterday, with temperatures expected to rise even further today.
The average maximum temperature across Australia reached 40.33 degrees on Monday, beating the previous record of 40.17 degrees set in 1972, the Bureau of Meteorology's David Jones told AAP.
Average maximum temperatures have risen above 40 degrees only three times in recorded history.
''We had the hottest day on record for Australia (on Monday) and today it looks like we may well go better again,'' Dr Jones said.
''This really puts the national dimension of this heat event into bigger context.''
Sydney-siders haved flocked to Bondi Beach to cool down with a dip. Picture: Twitter/Jess Deewriter
Aaron Coutts-Smith, the bureau's NSW manager for climate services, expects the run of dry and hot conditions to continue for at least the next week.
''What makes this event quite exceptional is how widespread and intense it's been,'' he said.
''We have been breaking records across all states and territories in Australia over the course of the event so far.''
Trevor Clare of Limestone Station near Broken Hill, where yesterday's high was over 44C. Picture: Braden Fastier
Hobart recorded its hottest day in 120 years on Friday, when the temperature peaked at 41.8 degrees.
Hay, in southwest NSW, climbed to 47.7 degrees on Saturday - its highest in 56 years.
Sydney was tipped to reach a maximum of 43 degrees today, which would make it the third highest temperature on record.
Markus Donat, from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, says periods of high temperatures have increased in recent decades.
We're not even at the half-way mark and it's already looking like the cruelest of summers, with catastrophic weather conditions on the cards over the next 24 hours
''In recent studies we have analysed how extreme temperatures have changed globally,'' he said.
''For most regions, including Australia, we found that extremely high temperatures have become more frequent and more intense.''
Dr Donat's research also shows extremely low temperatures have occurred less frequently than they did in the middle of the 20th century.
''Counting the number of very warm days (defined as the warmest five per cent between 1951 and 1980) we found that during the most recent three decades ... the frequency of days in this warmest category has increased by 40 per cent globally,'' he said.
This image posted on Twitter shows a frazzled pooch enjoying a cold spray during the heatwave. Picture: Twitter/Craft Ledger
Boss: 'It's too hot, go home!'
Temperatures soared by 20C in less than three hours this morning as the heatwave crossing Australia showed no signs of slowing down.
In NSW, temperatures exceeded 30 degrees soon after the sun came up this morning.
Bega on the state's south coast was the first town to hit 40 degrees at 11.30am (AEDT).
It recorded 37.8 degrees at 9am after the temperatures rose almost 15 degrees in an hour, up from from 23 degrees at 8am.
But a southerly wind change at about 3.30pm (AEDT) resulted in temperatures dropping to the mid-20s.
Michael Clunie, who works for Forests NSW, was ordered out of the Bomballa State Forrest in the morning when the temperature topped 41 Celsius.
''It's a relief,'' he said of the southerly.
These kids took a practical approach by cooling off in buckets. Picture: Twitter/Raven Zech
''People were worried about the whole area.''
Jo, a local business owner in the town's main strip, said takings were down by 75 per cent when she went to the bank after closing shop.
''The people just didn't come out or were evacuating and a lot of people who work in offices in Bega left because they were worried about their homes,'' she said.
Temperatures of 40 degrees were recorded in Sydney at 12.30pm, up from 27 degrees at 9am.
AS temperatures soar across Australia, Canadian YouTuber Frankie MacDonald and the internet have the hot tips to keep you cool
But, the cool change has dropped temperatures dramatically on the far south coast of NSW.
At Merimbula, the temperature dropped from a near-record January high of 41.1 degrees Centigrade at 1.07pm (AEDT) to 24.1 degrees as an east-southeast change brought welcome relief.
The change is moving north up the coast and is expected to reach Sydney before midnight.
Many are taking refuge from the NSW heatwave by staying indoors, while the more adventurous have headed to the beach.
Hanna Basso with daughter Brigitta Whilbey at Brighton beach in Adelaide on another hot day. Picture: Calum Robertson
While workers can luxuriate in their air-conditioned offices, holidaymakers are finding other ways to cool down.
Extra surf lifesavers volunteered today at beaches that are not normally patrolled on weekdays.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology's automatic weather station, the hottest place in NSW is just west of Kangaroo Valley, with a temperature of 42.7 degrees.
Experts have warned air conditioners are likely to struggle in the NSW heatwave posing a danger to the power network.
"The hotter it is outside the harder it is for (a system) to reject the heat," said University of South Australia professor of sustainable energy Wasim Saman.
"So it operates with less efficiency and that obviously makes it struggle."
A heatwave means the cooling systems will run constantly and this increases the risk of a local or area-wide power outage.
"Obviously there's a danger to the power network," Prof Saman said.
Ouyen farmer Brent Morrish walking across scorched Victorian earth with dogs Beau and Lucky.
About 2100 homes and businesses in Sydney's Freshwater area were affected by a power outage this afternoon.
Supplier Ausgrid says power is back to most homes in Freshwater and Allambie Heights after overhead fault.
Crews were still working to bring power back to a final 50 homes at 2.45pm.
Weather records are tipped to fall in Queensland this week, where the outback town of Birdsville is expected to remain above 45C all week.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sam Campbell said the town hit 44.8C yesterday.
"We've had six days of 45 degrees or more (including yesterday) and when (today) goes above 45 degrees that will be the longest period of temperatures above 45 degrees in Birdsville since records began there in 1892,'' Mr Campbell said.
Icy treats for hot zoo animals
''Most importantly, don't forget your elderly and frail relatives and neighbours, and pay special attention to the health needs of babies and young children who can be adversely affected by the heat.''
The bushfire danger extends far beyond Sydney's city limits, with parts of the state are already copping it
In Brisbane temperatures are expected to remain above 30C for the week and will reach 41C in the southeast.
In Victoria temperatures continue to soar with parts of the state hitting 33C before 9am.
Yarrawonga, near the New South Wales border, reached 33.5C at 8.35 this morning. Rutherglen, in northeastern Victoria, was 34.1C just after 9am.
Melbourne's temperature reached 30.3C on Tuesday but came close to 40C in the north of the state.
But the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a shower or two for the Melbourne area on Wednesday, with a maximum of 20C.
Ambulance Victoria operations manager Paul Holman said since last Friday, when the temperature exceeded 40C in Melbourne, between seven and 12 children have been found locked in cars each day, with passersby alerting authorities.
Some of the children have been hospitalised, he said, and it was happening across Melbourne.
"It's like putting a gun to your child's head,'' Mr Holman told reporters today.
He said the usual excuse from the parents was they had briefly gone into a shop.
Mr Holman said on a 40-degree day temperatures inside cars parked in the sun can reach well beyond 50 degrees in a short time.
While the thermometer in Canberra didn't peak as high as other capitals around the country with a maximum of 38 degrees, the ACT Ambulance Service said it had still attended 19 cases of heat related illnesses.
Of those they treated, 15 patients between the ages of 14 and 90 years required transport to hospital.
''Keeping cool and hydrated is key to staying safe and healthy during hot summer days,'' the ACT Emergency Services Agency said in a statement.
Weather analysis to be released today is expected to show Australia is sweltering through its hottest days in history.
Bureau of Meteorology forecast modelling estimates show the mercury was expected to hit a new national record yesterday and today.
The previous national high of 40.17C set was on December 21, 1972.
Yesterday's national temperature will be released at 2pm.
Monday may only be a record for 24 hours, as today is expected to be even hotter as the spread of heat widens.
Sydney heatwave just beginning
The national temperature is calculated from about 700 weather stations across the country, but is processed as a mathematical interpolation instead of an average.
Bureau figures for Sunday, released yesterday, show the national temperature was 39.71C, and marked the first time it has stayed above 39C for five days in a row.
But bureau climate monitoring manager Karl Braganza said he expected that record to stretch to seven days when yesterday and today's figures were calculated.
"The forecast for today and tomorrow is expected to exceed that record of 40.17 degrees," Mr Barganza said.
"It will be touch and go, these records are hard to break. But we're expecting to at least give it a good push."
The hottest place today is forecast to be Oodnadatta in South Australia, at 46C.
The coolest places should be in national parks on the southern tip of Tasmania, at 16C.
The bureau believes waves of heat will repeat every few days until a monsoon breaks the pattern.
Weather services assistant director Alasdair Hainsworth said a low near Timor could develop into a cyclone in the next day or two
But he added that without a circuit breaker, the waves of extreme heat would continue.
"Unfortunately, with this super-hot air, we could see this pattern continue repeating itself for a while until we see the hot air flushed out," he said.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Australia posts hottest day on record
Dengan url
http://segarasa.blogspot.com/2013/01/australia-posts-hottest-day-on-record.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Australia posts hottest day on record
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Australia posts hottest day on record
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar