Today's Heat Outrages
More stuff:
- No relief from heatwave chaos (ABC)
About 16,000 customers of Jemena, Alinta and United Energy, which cover south-eastern metropolitan areas and the north-west of Melbourne were still without power at 1:00pm AEDT.
Victorian fire authorities have revised the area burnt by the two fires burning in the Strzelecki Ranges south of the Latrobe Valley since yesterday.
The latest aerial scans of the two fires show they have now burnt through more than 2,000 hectares of grassland, bush and forest, a figure far greater than that released in alerts this morning.
Heatwave brings havoc to southern Australia as temperatures hit 45C (Times Online)
In Adelaide 19, mainly elderly, people are reported to have died during the heatwave, a higher than average daily figure of sudden deaths. Only two sudden deaths were recorded last Friday.
The heatwave has also affected Tasmania, traditionally Australia’s coolest state, which reached 42.2C at Scamander - an all-time record for the island.
Australian heatwave again cuts trains, power (Reuters)
Ambulance Victoria said paramedics were stretched to the limit with a surge in calls for help in the heat, with more than 1,300 cases on Thursday, a jump of 52 percent on the daily rate.
Australian Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has said the heatwave was a sign of climate change.
Australia, one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change due to its hot, dry climate, is in the grip of drought and fire bans have been declared in southern Australia to prevent major bushfires.
This Summer sucks. It was only 31°C here today (currently at 23°) though it was awfully exhausting to run around in. Tomorrow's forecast is 20 - 30°. Should I go out at all? I think I'll have to see what my ankle is like tomorrow.