Temperatures off the charts as Australia turns deep purple (More colors have to be added to maps)

[Are_grits_groceries]

Australia's "dome of heat" has become so intense that the temperatures are rising off the charts – literally.

The air mass over the inland is still heating up - it hasn't peaked

The Bureau of Meteorology's interactive weather forecasting chart has added new colours – deep purple and pink – to extend its previous temperature range that had been capped at 50 degrees.

Deep purple ... the Bureau of Meteorology's interactive weather forecasting chart has added new colours. Photo: Bureau of Meteorology

The range now extends to 54 degrees – well above the all-time record temperature of 50.7 degrees reached on January 2, 1960 at Oodnadatta Airport in South Australia – and, perhaps worringly, the forecast outlook is starting to deploy the new colours.

"The scale has just been increased today and I would anticipate it is because the forecast coming from the bureau's model is showing temperatures in excess of 50 degrees," David Jones, head of the bureau's climate monitoring and prediction unit, said.

While recent days have seen Australian temperature maps displaying maximums ranging from 40 degrees to 48 degrees - depicted in the colour scheme as burnt orange to black – both Sunday and Monday are now showing regions likely to hit 50 degrees or more, coloured purple.
<snip>
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/temperatures-off-the-charts-as-australia-turns-deep-purple-20130108-2ce33.html

Smh.......
Scary!

[dipsydoodle]

1. That's 129f !

I'm guessing that only the native population would get anywhere close to coping.

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. Yep

and it is going to go up.
If they hadn't enclosed the stadiums where the Australian Open is played, holding that tournament would be a major problem.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

3. 105 is miserable.

Above 110 is unbearable. I can't imagine heat above 120.

[dipsydoodle]

4. My father was in North Africa WW2 mid 1943

until the Royal Engineers were shipped off to Sicily and onward to Italy. He reckoned dry heat 120f wasn't too bad - they played hockey at that temperature.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. They were studs!

I worked in Death Valley in the Summer once. Unreal hot!

[OldDem2012]

14. I drove through Death Valley one summer, didn't use air conditioning, and had my left arm....

....on the edge of the rolled down window. I knew it was blazing hot that day (125+ F in the shade), but the air coming through the car at 70-80 mph fooled me into thinking it was cooler than it actually was. When I stopped for the evening on the other side of Death Valley, I learned that my arm had been terrifically sunburned and had actually developed a few blisters. I learned a major lesson about the desert that day.

Another story....Twentynine Palms is a Marine Corps base located about 200 miles due south of Death Valley and in the same desert system. The Marines run maneuvers at that base in fall, winter, and spring, but never in the summer. We actually fried an egg on the side of a personnel carrier at noon during one spring's maneuvers....the day-time temp in the shade that day was 120 F.

[pinboy3niner]

21. Sounds similar to Vietnam

Infantry troops in the field carried rucks weighing 60+ pounds, plus weapons and ammo, plus 4 canteens of water per man (and canteens needed to be re-filled frequently from rivers and streams). After humping all day, by the time squads moved into their ambush positions they were soaking wet--and then the temperature dropped...brrrrrr.

[justabob]

12. indeed

I have experienced 115 here in Texas, and that is bad enough. Over 120 has to be absolutely miserable.

[Mdterp01]

29. I would take 110 dry Arizona heat

....over 90 and humid northeast summer heat that is unbearable and muggy.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

35. Tell me about it.

I worked a whole summer in it. Like working in a sauna.

[kestrel91316]

31. I have experienced a single day of 119F, and several days in a row of 116F.

That kind of heat is scary and dangerous. You find yourself praying that the power doesn't fail. And it's likely to, as the power lines sag in the heat.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

34. That would really suck.

[kestrel91316]

36. We DID lose power during that 116F heat wave. When it came back on a few hours later,

the AC at my clinic didn't. So we had to evacuate my 2 mascots to my apartment and shut the place down. I hunkered down at home with the 3 cats, praying that the 2 little wall AC units didn't crap out from the strain (or the power fail THERE). Oh and the car ruptured some gasket and spewed hot liquid all over and I had to have it towed to my mechanic (who was closed over the weekend).

When the AC was finally fixed it took 24 hours to get temps in the place back down to where I could do business again. And I lost a few cans of flea spray - it topped 100F inside the clinic and they sprung leaks.

I was actually afraid for my safety (and my kitties') during that one.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

37. Wow.

Now that's a miserable day. What state do you live in?

[realism101]

5. Geography

Canberra, the capital, lies at 35 degrees S. It is in almost the southern-most point of Australia, so the vast majority of the country lies closer to the equator. For perspective, Albuqueque, NM lies at about 35 degrees, and Australia is almost the size of the U.S. The northern edge of Australia lies at 12 degrees.

For perspective on all of this, the Sahara desert runs from 15 degrees north to 35 degrees north. So, roughly, Australia is at the exact same latitude (distance from the equator) south as the Sahara desert is north.

And, what is most of Australia? Desert! That's why the population density in the purple area is 0.1 to 1 person per square kilometer, and the high populations live on the coast.

Meanwhile, while Australia is hot (due to weather), the global lower atmosphere temperature anomaly for December was 0.34 degrees and the running 13 month anomaly was just 0.12 degrees.

[Duppers]

8. new to DU Jan 4, 2013.

If it were ONLY a matter of geography, why would NEW color-code be necessary.

[realism101]

9. Because of what I said in my post.

It's geography AND weather.

[AllyCat]

16. The second item in your list will lead you to the real problem.

[OldDem2012]

10. Let me hazard a guess here....you don't think global warming is actually happening? nt.

[Are_grits_groceries]

13. The geography is a constant.

The variables are what's interesting. It's the climate. The entire whole is shifting to cause hotter weather. This goes well beyond normal weather anomalies.
The US is seeing the same shift. We now have hotter weather and prolonged drought especially in those places prone to it because of other factors.
As far as Realism 101, this seems to be more along the lines of Denial 101.

[AllyCat]

15. A 3.3 degree temperature change (and rising) in just this year alone?

Geography aside, probability is striking.

[Berlum]

17. Rush Limbaugh agrees and says the Republicans have a plan for Australia

As the top Republican propaganda pimp, Rush and his overpaid chickenhawk cronies on Fox (R) will continue to lie vigorously about reality to Aussies as well as to Americans, and may even fling more BS to compensate for encroaching facts.

[TheMadMonk]

18. There's a fraction too much fiction.

What a wonderful use of multiple facts to tell one great whopping lie.

When weather records for single locales are broken once in a blue moon, that's weather.

When weather records at every lattitude from +90 to -90 are broken again and again, year after year THAT IS CLIMATE.

When those records include both record minima and record maxima then you have a climactic system that is MASSIVELY OUT OF EQUILIBRIUM.

[reformist2]

6. Good thing they have whole underground villages in Coober Pedy.

[leftyohiolib]

19. this will be our way of life thatis untill th sea levels rise and flood it

[fasttense]

11. The responses to this post are interesting.

I'm posting after 8 others. And out of 8 posters 2 think there is nothing to worry about if Australia heats up to 129F.

As a microcosms of the US that's about 25% of the people think global climate change is just fine and dandy.

I wonder if 25% of Americans believe Jesus rode on a dinosaur?

[UCmeNdc]

20. I wonder how hot and dry the United States will be summer 2013

I wonder if Texas will want Fed money for drought relief?

[SpankMe]

22. But, it's a dry heat. n/t

[shanti]

33. you must be from nor cal

heh! that's what we say here in sacramento in the summer.

[ananda]

23. 50C is 122F.

Now that's fucking hot!

Even here in Texas.

[City Lights]

24. Holy cow!

[Speck Tater]

25. And when August comes, and it's OUR turn

it could easily get just as bad here.

Actually, it could get a lot worse, because our NUMBERS will be a lot higher, and where they might be 5 degrees (C) above normal, we would be 9 degrees (F) above normal! (If we could only get the rest of the world to use real degrees instead of those wimpy C degrees people here might take global warming more seriously. We hear "50 degrees" and think it's winter and time to put on a jacket. Fifty just isn't a big enough number to impress anyone.)

[2on2u]

26. Thank god for photoshop, we will be able to take care of that little problem in no time. n/t

[Mdterp01]

27. I'm about to go to Australia

Im going to Melbourne for the Australian Open and man I hope it cools down. There are roofs on the two main show courts, but it gets very humid inside. Dangerous playing conditions right now. There are pre Aussie Open warmup tournaments going on this week.

[liberal N proud]

28. Good think that is in Celsius

Otherwise it would really feel hot!



Forget about frying eggs on the sidewalk, you bake your lungs breathing that.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. I have several Facebook friends (fellow translators) in Australia

and they're reeling from the temperatures, even though they're used to hot summers.

[Odin2005]

32. That's hotter than Death Valley.