Historic heat wave brings Australia its hottest average temperature on record
It's been a summer like no other in the history of Australia, where a sprawling heat wave of historical proportions is entering its second week. Monday, January 7, was the hottest day in Australian history, averaged over the entire country, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The high temperature averaged over Australia was 105°F (40.3°C), eclipsing the previous record of 104°F (40.2°C) set on 21 December 1972. Never before in 103 years of record keeping has a heat wave this intense, wide-spread, and long-lasting affected Australia. The nation's average high temperature exceeded 102°F (39°C) for five consecutive days January 2 - 6, 2013--the first time that has happened since record keeping began in 1910. Monday's temperatures extended that string by another day, to six. To put this remarkable streak in perspective, the previous record of four consecutive days with a national average high temperature in excess of 102°F (39°C) has occurred once only (1973), and only two other years have had three such days in a row--1972 and 2002 (thanks go to climate blogger Greg Laden for these stats.) Another brutally hot day is in store for Wednesday, as the high pressure region responsible for the heat wave, centered just south of the coast, will bring clear skies and a northerly flow of air over most of the country. A slight cool down will occur later in the week, as the high weakens and slides to the east of Australia. The western coast of Australia may see cloud cover and rain from Tropical Cyclone Narelle this weekend, but the rest of the country will see very little in the way of cloud cover or rain during the coming week.
Figure 1. Aerial view of fire at Copping/Forcett, Tasmania, at around 4pm on 4 Jan 2013, taken from an airplane leaving Hobart Airport. Image credit: Wikipedia.
As discussed by wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt in his Monday post, Australia's extreme heat helped fuel wild fires in southeastern Tasmania that burned to the ground at least 100 homes last Friday and Saturday. The temperature peaked in the state capital of Hobart at 41.8°C (107.2°F) on Friday, the hottest temperature on record for the city, and tied for the 2nd hottest temperature ever recorded in Tasmania (records go back to 1882). The 2013 Australian heat wave extends a period of unusual warmth for the country. The last four months of 2012 were the hottest such period on record, with an average Australian maximum temperature +1.61°C, just beating the previous record of 1.60°C set in 2002. The current heat wave has not yet set a record for all-time hottest temperature in Australian history, which remains the 50.7°C (123.3°F) reading on 2 January 1960 at Oodnadatta, South Australia.
Figure 2. Departure of high temperature from average (using a base period of 1961 - 1990) for the first six days of 2013. A large area of Australia has had high temperatures more than 6°C (11°F) higher than average. Image credit: Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 — Blog Index
WOW!!!!!I have never seen anything like that.
Wundergirl12
When one side has reams of converging data supporting its argument (including well-known and verified fields of atmospheric chemistry, physics, geology, biology, oceanography, planetary science, ecology) and the other does not, that IS kind of how it works.
See also: people who support plate tectonics vs. expanding earth; evolution vs. whatever; germ theory of disease vs. the ethers.
There are decades of measurements that indicate that the planet is warming, and that humans are a primary cause, since the other natural controls would otherwise indicate a cooling trend. On the other hand, Al Gore is a pompous guy who may or may not be a complete hypocrite. Only one of those statements has any use to a scientist.
Quote Function did not work properly. I was refering to FunnelVortex posts #188 and #196.
Clearly not.
In the geologic past, the ways the planet dealt with "excess" CO2 included dissolving it in the ocean or bonding it into the structure of minerals precipitated from water or eroding from highlands. Neither one of those happens terribly rapidly; rates are geologic and not human-timescale. Unfortunately, they really can't be sped up on a global scale without a truly catastrophic event as a trigger, either.
last i checked you hold the patent for rubber and glue
I can't wait!
Slightly misleading, wouldn't you say? A 0.18 degree F difference does not a degree F make. But if you want to make things look completely unprecedented, round 104.36 to 104 and 104.54 to 105. Voila! 0.18 degree becomes 1 degree! I wonder if that's how climate change models are calculated.
Maybe we'll hopefully find different solutions in a shorter time frame?
CO₂ as alternative carbon source
From climate sinner to useful material
Some 30 billion tons of CO₂ are emitted worldwide annually. But the greenhouse gas can no longer be considered solely as a climate damaging waste, because researchers from Bayer have discovered a way of turning carbon dioxide into a useful raw material.
Oil, natural gas and coal and biomass are the traditional sources of carbon, relied on so heavily by the chemical industry. These four substances are the starting point for around 40 basic chemicals and more than 40,000 chemical products.
The problem is that fossil raw materials will run out in the not too distant future, as they are becoming increasingly expensive and a great deal of energy is needed to process them.
Now, however, it looks like a fifth source has been found that doesn't come with all these disadvantages: the ubiquitous greenhouse gas carbon dioxide could be used as a carbon source and replace some of the significant amount of oil used to manufacture plastics. To reach this goal, Bayer has initiated several projects with partners from the industry and scientific community.
Pilot plant in Leverkusen
Most advanced is “Dream Production,” an initiative to use CO₂ as the source of one of the two components needed to produce polyurethane, a foam material that is widely applied in furniture, athletic shoes or thermal insulation. And mattresses, the first application for the new raw material. The first CO2-based polyurethanes are due to come to market from the middle of this decade.
Since the beginning of 2011, Bayer MaterialScience has been manufacturing test batches of the chemical substance needed at a pilot plant in Leverkusen, Germany. The CO₂ used in this process is sourced from a power plant operated by RWE near Cologne. It is removed from the flue gas and liquefied for transportation.
Closing the carbon cycle
“This new process was made possible by a scientific breakthrough,” explains project manager Christoph Gürtler. “We finally found the suitable catalyst experts have been searching for so long.” It enables the efficient reaction of CO₂, which is normally slow to react. The partners in the alliance are confident that the new process is also ecologically viable and will ultimately even reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
In another project called CO₂rrect that extends far into the future, Bayer is taking the next step and seeking to integrate electricity from wind mills in its efforts to make use of carbon dioxide for a double sustainability effect. One goal is to convert the CO₂ into carbon monoxide, a key basic chemical that could in turn be used to produce another component for polyurethanes. This would close the carbon cycle.
Source
Thanks for asking; I'm glad to be able to provide clarification.
I agree..
I may have sounded like I was baiting him..
It wasn't meant that way,
I've said it in 2 post reply's and I'll say it again..
I'm not taking sides here or taking Nea to task..
just speaking my views in a rationaland calm way..
I hope thats how it comes across as I mean it no other way whatsoever..
I do not ever recall labeling you as a "denier", nymore. I have, on several occasions, stated that you will sometimes mimmick those of the denial industry. I am still uncertain as to what your stance actually is. We have had some enlightening conversations between us. Yet, I have noticed that when we seem to be making progress in conversations towards what would possibly work in terms of mitigation, you go silent.
New Blog..
As usual, you seem to be glad to be able to provide snark as well.
Many people will skim over the metric version simply because it isn't as familiar. Even though not strictly misleading, the reader is led to assume a degree over the previous record. This is fact.
Oh, no. I was not referring to you at all in this. I was merely commenting that it is both push and pull. I was not suggesting that you were baiting NEA.
washi we're next door. new blog. but global warming blog ughhhh!!!
Viewing: 251 - 273
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 — Blog Index