New Scientist - Another Week Of "Catastrophic" Aussie Heat; 50-54C Projected For High
"No relief can be expected from severe heatwave conditions for at least another week," says Danita Matusch, spokesperson for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The country is sweltering under a record-smashing "dome of heat" causing the worst fire threat on record, and forcing Australian meteorologists to add two colours to their heat maps.
On Monday, the average maximum temperature across the country was 40.33 °C, surpassing the old record of 40.17 °C set in 1976. "Previously, the only time we ever had a sequence above 39 °C was four days in 1973," says Karl Braganza of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. "Today will make it seven days."
Late on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast that temperatures later this week would reach 54 °C, leading them to add two new shades of purple to the top of their temperature scale (see map). The forecast was later revised to show temperatures maxing out at 50 °C on Saturday (see here for the latest forecast).
Braganza says the exceptional weather is the result of four months of record maximum temperatures, a stationary high-pressure system over the continent, clear skies and the failure of the northern monsoon. All that has come against the backdrop of warmer global temperatures.
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http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23055-australia-faces-another-week-of-catastrophic-heat.html
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