Heat wave

Analysis and Comment (10)

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Heat, floods and fire: it’s not just weather. timswinson.com

Angry summer shaped by a shifting climate

By Will Steffen

The hottest summer on record. The hottest month on record. The hottest day ever recorded for the whole of Australia. Heatwaves, bushfires, record rainfall and floods – extreme events across the land. This…
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Another summer, not quite like the other summers. Steve Lacy

Floods, fires and lots of heat: summing up summer 2012-13

By Jane Rawson, The Conversation

We all know what to expect from summer in Australia. From December through March it will be hot, there will be storms and floods, and there will be bush fires. It’s been like that for as long as history…
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Australia’s latest summer has been significant for weather and for climate. VIBE Audio

Hot summer? Yes: the hottest

By Blair Trewin, Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Karl Braganza, Australian Bureau of Meteorology

This summer hasn’t just felt hot. It’s been hot. In fact, the summer of 2012-13 is now the hottest on record. Average temperatures beat the record set in the summer of 1997-98, and daytime maximum temperatures…
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Our impact on the earth has brought on a new geographical epoch – The Age of Humans. AAP/Damien Shaw

Climate change signals the end of the social sciences

By Clive Hamilton

In response to the heatwave that set a new Australia-wide record on 7 January, when the national average maximum reached 40.33°C, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a statement that, on reflection, sounds…
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Australia has always had heat waves, but the current one is far from typical. Daniel Alexander Head

What’s causing Australia’s heat wave?

By Neil Plummer, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Blair Trewin, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; David Jones, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Karl Braganza, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Rob Smalley, Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Australia has started 2013 with a record-breaking heat wave that has lasted more than two weeks across many parts of the country. Temperatures have regularly gone above 48°C, with the highest recorded…
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The 2003 European heat wave caused 80,000 deaths at temperatures Australians usually experience in a regular summer. AAP

Could we acclimatise to the hotter summers to come?

By Liz Hanna

Acclimatising to heat is a tough gig. Since 1970, central Australian regions have warmed 1.2ᵒC and as the world continues to get warmer, increasingly common and increasingly intense heat waves will make…
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More and longer heat waves are coming, so researchers are making sure our crops are ready. Amy Mergard

Can crops withstand more heat waves?

By Daniel Tan

Australia broke its “hottest day” record this week, and heat waves are becoming more common in Australia. Heat waves are projected to increase in duration and intensity with global warming and climate…
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Environmental heat disturbs the delicate balance between sleep and body temperature. Steven Mileham

Too hot to sleep? Here’s why

By Ron Grunstein

Bushfires are quite appropriately dominating our nation’s concerns during the current Australian heatwave. But for many, the struggle to sleep through soaring temperatures is a personal inferno that dominates…
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Preparation is key to surviving extremely hot weather. Misswired/Flickr

Strategies for coping with extremely hot weather

By Margaret Loughnan, Monash University

Exposure to extreme heat can cause illness and even death for some people. But there are several small steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones. We need to keep our body temperature…

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