Heat wave returns to Australia on first day of summer

Reuters Posted at Dec 01 2020 02:34 PM SYDNEY - An intense heat wave returned to Australia's south and east on Tuesday, the first day of the southern hemisphere summer, raising risks of bush fires after the country sweltered through its hottest November on record. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) expects temperatures to break records in the coming days due to the heat wave, which has been building across much of the country's outback interior over the last week. "While bursts of heat and heat wave are normal for this time of year, what's making this burst of heat exceptional is temperatures up to 18 degrees (Celsius) above average," BoM Meteorologist Dean Narramore said. People flocked to beaches and pools to cool off after a slight reprieve from the heat when temperatures stayed in the mid-20s on Monday. "It's been a long time since anyone had to deal with that sort of heat and when it comes and it hits you like that, not fun for anyone," Louis Chris, cooling off in Bronte Baths near Sydney's iconic Bondi beach, told Reuters. The heat wave, which is now slowly moving to the northeast, has also elevated the risks of fires. More than 30 fire crews are trying to contain a massive blaze at world heritage listed site Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland. The fires have razed nearly half of the popular tourist island's land area, authorities said. Total fire bans have been enforced across the east amid the first major heat wave of Australia's fire season, which usually runs from late southern hemisphere spring through summer. Last summer's bush fires - which Prime Minister described as Australia's "black summer" - killed 33 people and billions of native animals but the risk this year is from grasslands, which are expected to dry soon and spark fires.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more