Australia endures the severe cold of its winter.
Record-breaking heatwaves in Australia: Several locations across the continent have been dealing with significantly higher than normal temperatures for several days, even in the middle of the Southern Hemisphere winter.
As meteorological spring approaches, Melbourne’s main weather service is reporting prolonged high temperatures. The unusual heat is expected to persist at least until the weekend, according to the state’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Residents should prepare for “abnormally high temperatures and unusual weather conditions,” said BOM spokesman Pieter Claassen.
It’s not just the tropics in the northwest and northern parts of Australia that are under the scorching heat. Even the densely populated state of Queensland is experiencing temperatures well above normal. For example, Brisbane, the city, saw the temperature exceed 30 degrees Celsius towards the end of August. In fact, the months of May to September are the locally coldest in the southern hemisphere.
The isolated Yampi Sound weather station on the northwest coast even surpassed the 40-degree mark. A temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius was recently recorded there, the highest ever recorded in Australia in winter.
“Temperatures at Yampi Sound station are extraordinarily high, and we are seeing very high readings at other stations across Australia,” says ntv weather expert Karim Belbachir. In Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, the typical daily high in August is a relatively comfortable 21.7 degrees.
“In certain regions of southern, central and western Queensland, we could see the warmest August days since 2009,” said BOM climate expert Claassen. Records could be broken at some stations. The situation is similar in the Northern Territory.
The extent of the warm air zone is evident on the weather maps. This year, the unusual warmth is spreading over a wide band far to the south. Several weather stations in the outback, as far as Oodnadatta or Andamooka, have reported new “winter records”: The thermometer has exceeded 35 degrees in these low-rainfall regions, where mild temperatures are expected.
The heat is disrupting daily life in the town of Birdsville, located in the heart of the country. “Many people are seeking refuge in indoor air-conditioned spaces,” a local resident who flies tourists to the outback was quoted as saying by ABC, an Australian television station. “We wouldn’t expect this kind of weather here until mid-September.”
The recorded data supports this observation. The local weather station in Birdsville recorded the hottest August day so far last Sunday, with a temperature of 38.4 degrees Celsius. “The temperatures are more typical of what we would expect during the Australian summer,” noted the official meteorological service in Melbourne. Although temperatures drop significantly during the night, this phenomenon has not yet been officially classified as a heatwave.
Australians are also surprised by these temperatures
