Australia is a hot place right now and even has to worry about wildfires too. Previously when forecasting temperatures, the weather office had used colors that went to black, or 50 degrees Celsius. However according to forecasts 'down under' the temperatures could get even higher than that. They have added two more colors at the top of the scale that go up to 54°C.
Just how hot is that? Well 50°C is 122°F and 54°C is 129°F!
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the average temperature across the entire country has broken a daily record, at 40.33°C. That is taking all of its reporting stations and the average of their respective high temperature. It beats the old record of 40.17°C that had held the #1 spot since 1972.
In fact the number of consecutive days Australia has had daily temperatures above 39°C stands at seven. The previous record for that statistic was just four! The conversion of 39°C is 102°F.
The annual monsoon is delayed this year, which typically cools the country off, according to the bureau. Forecast models indicate some locations may very well surpass 50°C in mid-January.
Australia is also dealing with wildfires, because of the heat and lack of rain. This recent weather is having an impact on agricultural and horticultural sectors, infrastructure and transport, and human health and safety.
-Meteorologist Steve Glazier
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