Summer is off to a very hot start in Australia. The last time Victoria was this warm in December was five years ago. Overnight temperatures in Adelaide reached almost 30 degrees.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the temperature reached 47.1 degrees Celsius in the north-western Victorian town of Walpeup on Monday. The last time this temperature or higher was recorded in the state was on December 20, 2019. Five years ago, a heat record was recorded in this city, its temperature was 47.7 degrees.
Many other places in western Victoria also recorded their highest December temperatures for years. Thermometers show 12 to 20 degrees of heat this month.
30 degrees at night
Extreme heat has spread to many parts of Australia. Temperatures topped 45C in Birdsville in Queensland, Smithville in New South Wales, Renmark in South Australia and Jervois in the Northern Territory.
In Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, 38 degrees was measured at 10am after the temperature had dropped to just 29.8 degrees overnight.
People chilling on the beach in MelbournePAP/EPA/DIEGO FEDELE
As meteorologists explain, the heat is intensified by the high pressure system located in the south and east of the country.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/DIEGO FEDELE
