Related News
Australia swelters in record heat wave
Print Edition
Australia this week experienced its hottest day on record and the heatwave is expected to worsen, exacerbating an already unprecedented bushfire season, authorities said yesterday.
The average nationwide temperature of 40.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday beat the previous record of 40.3 degrees Celsius in January 2013, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
鈥淭his heat will only intensify further today,鈥 meteorologist Diana Eadie Said.
The heatwave is another alarm bell about global warming in Australia, where this year鈥檚 early and intense start to regular summer bushfires has heaped pressure on the Australian government to do more to tackle climate change.
Hundreds of bushfires have been raging across Australia for months, including a 鈥渕ega-blaze鈥 burning north of Sydney, the country鈥檚 biggest city.
Smoke from the fires has engulfed Sydney, raising air pollution to levels so hazardous that leading doctors have labelled the event a 鈥減ublic health emergency.鈥
At least 3 million hectares of land has been torched across Australia, with six people killed and about 700 homes destroyed.
Bone dry, no water
Scientists say the blazes have come earlier and with more intensity than usual due to global warming and a prolonged drought that has left the land tinder dry and many towns running out of water.
The fires have sparked climate protests targeting the conservative government, which has resisted pressure to address the root causes of global warming in order to protect the country鈥檚 lucrative coal export industry.
Record spot temperatures were recorded this week in Western Australia, where firefighters have also been battling blazes raging across thousands of hectares of land.
The hot weather then began drifting across the country鈥檚 arid center toward the heavily populated the eastern states, where most of the bushfires have raged.
Parts of the eastern state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, were forecast to reach the mid-40s Celsius today.
On Saturday, parts of Sydney are forecast to tip over 46 degrees Celsius.
Turbulent winds of up to 100 kilometers an hour are forecast to also hit the east coast at the same time and worsen the blazes.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
