Heat Wave

Monday was Australia’s hottest day in recorded history - the average temperature across the entire country topped 40 degrees celcius.

On Tuesday the Bureau of Meteorology added a new colour to their temperature bar so that areas set to experience temperatures in excess of 50 degrees celcius can be represented on their forecast map.

And yesterday bushfires continue to rage in regional towns across south east Australia.  The question of whether climate change will cause more extreme weather has been answered by an overwhelming majority of scientists - and this summer it has again been corroborated by our experience. On Monday the Prime Minister made the connection, issuing the following statement: “we do know over time that as a result of climate change we are going to see more extreme weather events and conditions.” This is no longer the question we should be asking.

Continue reading "Now is exactly the time we should take climate action" »

[Ed’s note, at the time of publication the temperature in Sydney was 38 degrees and rising.]

One day with the mercury set to rise above 40 and Sydney is awash with panic the moaning can be heard all the way here in the Outback. Facebook and Twitter is jammed with people’s personal accounts of their preparations to beat the heat almost like Heat Survival plan for one day.

Out here in Broken Hill a day over 40 is the norm this summer we’re in the middle of a 10 day stretch with temperatures over 40.  I’m Sydney born and bred and now live in Broken Hill.  I just happen to have landed in Broken Hill in the middle of one of their hottest summers ever so I reckon I can speak with some authority about heat.

Let me tell you Sydney about real heat.  Real heat is when you wake up at 2am drenched in sweat and you check the temperature and it’s a balmy 35 degrees.

Continue reading "That’s not hot! I’ll tell you what hot is…" »