If you’re in the United States and have been wondering where global warming has gone, I have your answer: it’s in Australia.
Emergency services in southeast Australia are warning people to stay indoors as a dangerous heatwave batters the country, with temperatures so high that the asphalt on some roads has been melting.
The “catastrophic” hot weather caused a 10km stretch of the Hume Highway, near the Victoria state capital Melbourne, to become soft and sticky, causing havoc for motorists trying to enter the city.
Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania have now declared a total fire ban after blazes on the outskirts of Melbourne raged out of control, destroying buildings and threatening lives.
It took a team of 300 firefighters, 50 trucks and three helicopters to tackle one fire in Victoria’s Carrum Downs on Saturday, which threatened dozens of homes.
And another 49 bushfires are said to have been reported across the state – although many were small and easily extinguished – with 400 residencies losing power.
The state’s emergency management commissioner, Craig Lapsley, said hot temperatures had combined with dry weather, strong winds and a wind change to create dangerous conditions. [The Independent]
Welcome to Earth’s climate, a non-linear system in which more and more energy is trapped and running around madly, trying to escape. You can puzzle over these metric values …
Temperatures are expected to exceed 40°C in the southeast, with the country’s Bureau of Meteorology forecasting highs of 45°C in Penrith, 44°C in Richmond and 43°C in Liverpool, with much of the area being rated as ‘catastrophic’ or ‘code red’ by emergency services.
… or you can contemplate your asphalt melting and just take it as a sign that global climate is warming up.
