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Sydney recorded its hottest November night when Australia’s largest city suffered a weekend heat wave that saw highs during the day above 40 ° C (104 ° F).
The overnight temperature did not drop below 25.3 ° C last night in central Sydney, according to the meteorological bureau, making it the hottest November night since records began.
The temperature had already reached 30 ° C at 4:30 a.m. this morning, before reaching 40 ° C for the second day in a row.
“New South Wales is in the middle of a severe heat wave with very warm conditions that were already experienced yesterday, and today is a repeat of some of those conditions,” said Agata Imielska of the Bureau of Meteorology.
Daytime records for November fell elsewhere in southeastern Australia, with the towns of Griffith and Mildura in the interior reaching 43.2C and 45.7C respectively yesterday.
The heat wave saw fire-lighting bans across large swaths of the state of New South Wales (NSW), which was badly hit by catastrophic wildfires last southern hemisphere summer.
Several fires broke out today, including one on the western outskirts of Sydney that, according to the NSW Fire and Rescue Service, damaged property.
More than 60 wildfires were still burning across the state, but most had been controlled by firefighters when a southward wind shift caused temperatures to drop rapidly.
It was the first outbreak of significant wildfire activity since the devastating fires of 2019-2020, which left 33 people dead as tens of thousands fled their homes.
The fire season also killed or displaced nearly three billion animals and cost the economy an estimated € 5.8 billion.
The latest heat wave comes just two weeks after government scientists warned that the fossil fuel-dependent country should prepare for the worst, predicting that climate change will continue to exacerbate Australia’s bushfires, droughts and cyclones. .
Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly downplayed the link between climate change and wildfires, and has vowed to keep Australia as one of the world’s leading exporters of fossil fuels.
But Australians are increasingly concerned about climate change, with a recent poll from the Lowy Institute in Sydney showing that nearly 90% believe it is a critical or major threat.
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