Heat Records Falling Across SE Australia As Train Tracks Buckle, Spot Power Failures Grow

[hatrack]

As far as heatwaves go, the sweltering conditions in south-eastern Australia this week are remarkable. Tens of thousands of people were left without power, train tracks buckled and the Australian Open tennis tournament came under attack for putting players at risk.

"Heat wave hell" and "Melbourne melts" were among newspaper headlines. But get used to it, was the message from weather experts.

EDIT

Adelaide residents sweated through temperatures that reached 45.7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, their hottest day for 70 years. Adelaide's minimum of 33.9 degrees on Thursday was the highest-ever night temperature recorded in the city and if forecasts run true, it will experience its longest run of 40-plus daily temperatures since 1908.

Tasmania experienced its hottest recorded temperature, after Flinders Island airport reached 41.5 degrees on Thursday. Melbourne has also been breaking records. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the temperature was in excess of 43C, an unprecedented stretch of super-hot conditions.

EDIT

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/southeast-under-strain-heatwave-2457490

[maxsolomon]

1. y'know, Celsius just doesn't SOUND hot.

i'm such a Farenheitist.

[Sal Minella]

2. 40 degrees C. = 104 degrees F. Sound hotter???

Conversion table here --
http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion/celsius

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Australian heatwave sign of climate change (Eh… could be…)

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE50S0OA20090129?sp=true

Australian heatwave sign of climate change

Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:44am EST

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A heatwave scorching southern Australia, causing transport chaos by buckling rail lines and leaving more than 140,000 homes without power, is a sign of climate change, the government said on Thursday.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a total of six days of 40-plus Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) temperatures for southern Australia, which would equal the worst heatwave in 100 years.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the heatwave, which started on Wednesday, was the sort of weather scientists had been warning about.

"Eleven of the hottest years in history have been in the last 12, and we also note, particularly in the southern part of Australia, we're seeing less rainfall," Wong told reporters.

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