Op-Ed: Australian heatwave nears 50C with cyclones and more
The research found the Australian bushfires of 2019 and 2020 pumped out emissions on a scale similar to major volcanic eruptions. — © AFP
Australia’s summers are usually pretty warm. 35C is normal and unremarkable, with a few days above. We’re now seeing something a bit different. The predicted 50C in the current forecasts is a real benchmark, and atypical. 50C happens occasionally in the deserts. It’s not a regional forecast thing.
This isn’t just about the weather. We don’t often have extreme heat warnings, but they’re happening now. It’s an emerging climate reality and it really is very different. These hot summers have been “evolving” over the last decade. In the 2018-19 fires we had a desert catch fire while about a quarter of the country burned down. The summers have been hotter according to anyone over about 60.
El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole are the m
