Australia heatwave: Next week could see hottest day on record

A bushfire outside the Perth Stadium, WAImage copyright
AFP

Image caption

A bushfire outside the Perth Stadium

Australia could experience its hottest day on record next week as a severe heatwave in the country’s west is set to make its way east, forecasters say.

Temperatures are likely to exceed 40C in many areas from Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says.

The current record of 50.7C was set on 2 January 1960 in the outback town of Oodnadatta in South Australia.

Fire weather warnings have been issued for parts of Western Australia and Queensland.

In Perth, in Western Australia, temperatures are forecast to remain high on the weekend, reaching 40C on Saturday and 41C on Sunday.

Next week, the extreme heat is likely to continue in parts of Western Australia and also affect much of South Australia, where Adelaide should see highs of 40C on Tuesday and Wednesday, 41C on Thursday and 42C on Friday.

  • Why Australia is expecting a long and dangerous summer
  • Australia’s deadly relationship with heat

In Melbourne, in Victoria state, the temperature is forecast to hit 41C on Friday. The heatwave is also expected to affect areas of New South Wales and southern parts of the Northern Territory.

Image copyright
Bureau of Meteorology

Image caption

Wednesday’s forecast sees many parts of Australia baking

“We’re expecting some incredibly warm conditions as we head into next week, potentially record-breaking for a number of areas across southern Australia over the next seven days or so,” BOM meteorologist Diana Eadie was quoted by ABC as saying.

“It is not out of the realms of possibility that we could break our highest ever recorded temperature.”

The country, she added, could also see its highest average temperature record – when all of the maximum temperatures recorded on any given day are combined – broken next week. That record is 40.3C from 7 January 2013.

Meanwhile, the BOM says a fire weather warning has been issued for:

  • Central West, Gascoyne, Lower West (including Perth), Ravensthorpe Shire, Nelson, Stirling Coast, Upper Great Southern, Roe, Lakes and Avon in Western Australia
  • Central Highlands, Coalfields, Darling Downs and Granite Belt in Queensland

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionWhy Australia bushfires are now ‘hotter and more intense’
source: bbc.com


πŸ• Top News in the Last Hour By Importance Score

# Title πŸ“Š i-Score
1 China launches TJS-17, expanding classified geostationary satellite series πŸ”΄ 76 / 100
2 Idaho makes shock move on vaccine mandates in first-of-its-kind bill πŸ”΄ 75 / 100
3 The evolution of easier births means slower walking and pelvis issues πŸ”΄ 65 / 100
4 Trump turmoil will have a 'chilling effect' on UK growth, says deputy Bank of England governor πŸ”΅ 55 / 100
5 Justin Rose storms into three-shot lead after stunning opening round at Augusta – as Rory McIlroy suffers late wobble to dent his hopes of finally ending his Masters drought πŸ”΅ 55 / 100
6 Why Katie Holmes, SJP, Kylie Jenner and other glitzy names are in so many cringe low-budget online ads πŸ”΅ 55 / 100
7 New details in Val Kilmer's cause of death revealed days after Top Gun icon's passing aged 65 πŸ”΅ 52 / 100
8 Penguin crashes helicopter: Bizarre incident after bird nudges the controls πŸ”΅ 52 / 100
9 Rory McIlroy’s Masters hopes dive but Justin Rose blooms amid azaleas πŸ”΅ 45 / 100
10 Olivia Munn breaks silence on relationship with surrogate who carried her daughter πŸ”΅ 42 / 100

View More Top News ➑️