Monday, February 3, 2020

UPDATE: Keeping tabs on Australia's record heat (2019-2020 summer edition)


Source:  Metro UK



4/2/2019 update, "Australia suffers through record-hot March", starts here.


March was Australia's hottest on record, with temperatures 2C above average.  (The Guardian, 4/2/2019)
The latest monthly climate breakdown shows that despite two severe tropical cyclones in the northern states, temperatures across Australia were 2.13C above the average throughout last month in part due to an unusually dry summer in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. 
“One of the standout features of March was there was above-average temperatures just about everywhere; more than 99% of the country,” Blair Trewin, a senior climatologist at the bureau told Guardian Australia.

Related reading:
Australia sees record temperatures for fourth month in a row.  (Phys.org, 4/1/2019)
It was the fourth month in a row of record heat in the country, and January was Australia's hottest month ever, with mean temperatures across the continent exceeding 30 degrees Celsius for the first time. 


3/2/2019 update, "Australia, scorched, in a record-setting way", starts here.


Australia shatters record for its hottest summer.  (Axios, 3/1/2019)
Australia is one of the countries most impacted by climate extremes, suffering from heat waves, bushfires and coral bleaching events tied to long-term, human-driven increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. However, this summer brought unprecedented heat to every part of the country — part of a trend consistent with what scientists predict as global warming continues.
Other notable records:
  • highest mean maximum temperature
  • highest mean minimum temperature
  • 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit above 1961-90 average
The long run of hot, dry weather has taken a heavy toll on the nation’s £3.2 billion wine industry, which has become renowned for varieties such as shiraz, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. 
Australia is the world’s sixth largest wine exporter, including large supplies to China, the United States and the UK. But the searing heat has caused grapes to ripen more quickly, leaving growers struggling to pick them before they become sunburnt and shrivelled.

Millions of Australian homes struggling in record-breaking heat. (Phys.org,, 2/27/2019)
Poor building shells (roof, floor, walls, windows and doors) which let heat in, and hot direct sunlight through windows, particularly those that face west, are the main problems with most houses. Insufficient ceiling insulation, draughty windows and doors, and lack of glazed windows or external shading devices all contribute to low star energy ratings.  

Original 1/16/2019 post, "Australia, scorched", starts here.


The world's 15 hottest sites on Tuesday were all in Australia.  (Sydney Morning Herald, 1/16/2019)
Australia was home to all 15 of the world's hottest temperatures on Tuesday, a feat it may well repeat on Wednesday and beyond as a huge swath of the nation bakes in 45-degree-plus heat.
45 degrees Centigrade = 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat records smashed across Australia.  (SBS News, 1/15/2019)
Scorching summer temperatures have seen some regions reaching close to 50C with records crumbling as the week long heatwave continues.
 48.9 degrees Centigrade in South Australia's Port Augusta = 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Related posts:
January 2020
Lots of record high temperatures broken or tied this past weekend.  (1/13/2020)
2019: One for the "impossibly warm" record books in Bethel, Alaska.  (1/8/2020)
A decade of record heat in India.  (1/8/2020)
UPDATE: Keeping tabs on Australia's record heat (2019-2020 summer edition).  (1/7/2020)

December 2019 In Iceland, record-breaking early December heat follows a record-breaking hot summer.  (12/6/2019)

November 2019
Key West and Hawaii.  (11/18/2019)

August 2019
Alaska:  Dead salmon linked to climate change.  (8/24/2019)

June 2019
India.  (6/17 /2019)
San Francisco.  (6/12/2019)
Atlanta, Geogia.  (6/5/2019)

April 2019
Australia suffers through record hot March.  (4/2/2019)

March 2019
Seattle's record-breaking winter heat.  (3/19/2019)
UPDATE: Central Florida's record-setting February heat.  (3/2/2019)

January 2019
Australia, scorched.  (1/16/2019)
2018: Hottest year ever for Australian state of New South Wales.  (1/11/2019)
Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand hottest ever in 2018, further threatening marine life.  (1/11/2019)
GET ME REWRITE: Prague experiences hottest year on record for third time this decade.  (1/6/2019)

August 2018
Climate change as a matter of fact: Red-hot summer of record heat in Europe.  (8/18/2018)

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