Burnt trees are seen after a bushfire in Mount Weison in Blue Mountains, northwest of Sydney, on December 18, 2019. Twenty-nine Australian locations have already set new all-time record highs in 2019, including South Australia's capital, Adelaide, which soared to 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.9 degrees Fahrenheit) on January 24, according to international records expert Maxmiliano Herrera.The BOM also expects 2019 to be among the 10 driest years on record there. Sydney Airport on the city's south side soared to This record-setting heat wave is being driven by a massive dome of high pressure aloft, suppressing clouds and rain across much of the continent. SYDNEY — The U.S. northeast may be experiencing record-breaking low temperatures, but in the land down under, Aussies are melting from the sweltering heat. Australia has been searing in a blistering heat wave this week. Bushfire smoke from southern Queensland and New South Wales had pushed as far south as Melbourne midday Friday, according to satellite imagery.In Western Australia, the heat has eased off after setting records. The previous December hottest high temperature record was 49.5 degrees Celsius (121.1 degrees Fahrenheit) at the Birdsville Police Station in Queensland on Christmas Eve 1972.If this preliminary high temperature is found to be valid, it would be the hottest December temperature measured anywhere on the planet, international records expert Maxmiliano Herrera wrote in an email to weather.com.Australia's all-time national record high at any location stands was 50.7 degrees Celsius (123.3 degrees Fahrenheit) set in Oodnadatta, South Australia, on Jan. 2, 1960.South Australia's state capital, Adelaide, also set a Adelaide's West Terrace reporting station also set an Australia's Victoria state saw its hottest high temperatures on record Friday in two locations, smashing the state's previous record from New Year's Eve 1976. A heatwave is set to sweep over every Australian … Australia sizzles through record heat wave as Sydney faces ‘catastrophic’ fire danger. While there is relief in sight, parts of the country are in catastrophic fire danger this weekend. Media caption Australians on the heatwave: 'It's so hot, ... of which Sydney is the capital, hit temperatures in the early 40s on Thursday. Nullarbor, South Australia, registered the hottest December high temperature on record anywhere in Australia, soaring to 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday. When combining all high temperatures across the country, Wednesday smashed Australia's single hottest day on record, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM. Severe to extreme #heatwave conditions extend from NW #WA to the southeast of Australia. Sun 13 Jan 2019 01.09 EST First published on Sat 12 Jan 2019 23.05 EST. This is a heatwave, Australia. Fortunately, this heat dome is giving way a bit, allowing a cold front to provide cooling south winds into South Australia, Victoria and eventually coastal areas of New South Wales this weekend.Before that front arrives, excessive heat will still be in place.Needless to say, this is not good news for the effort to battle existing bushfires across the Even with heat relief on the way, shifting winds as the cold front moves through can change the direction a wildfire moves. Parts of western Sydney are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) by New Year’s Eve. We rely on readers like you to uphold a free press. The Sydney skyline. Tennis players are sweating, toxic ozone warnings are out for Sydney and fruit is cooking on the branches. Sydney news: Health warnings over smoke haze, total fire bans in place as heatwave looms. The searing heat also reached Sydney, Wednesday.
In Sydney, rain has offered a welcome reprieve from the smoke that has plagued the city over the past weeks.
Australia shattered its all-time hottest day on record Tuesday, then again Wednesday, and may do so again as a blistering heat wave continues what has been a torrid spring. To find out more about the heatwaves and our heatwave service, visit the Heatwave Knowledge Centre
Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. For the first time on record in December, Australia's fourth-largest city, Perth, had three-straight days of highs of at least 40 degrees Celsius last Friday through Sunday, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). The Heatwave Service has been ceased following the end of the 2019/20 season but will restart at the beginning of the 2020/21 season. Take control of your data:Heat records tumbled day after day contributing to extreme fire danger.The instigator for this record-breaking heat wave is an expansive dome of high pressure aloft.How precipitation is affected by the positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole around the Indian Ocean.The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. When the IOD is in its positive phase, warmer than average water pools in the western Indian Ocean, near the Horn of Africa, leading to The positive IOD has retreated in recent weeks but remains Indeed, another long, hot, dry summer may loom for Australia.We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: This content is currently not available in your region. We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. Updated November 19, 2019 06:28:52 See our The average of those high temperatures was 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 degrees Fahrenheit), topping the previous record of 40.9 degrees Celsius set Tuesday, which, in turn, topped the longer-standing record of 40.3 degrees Celsius on January 7, 2013. By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms.