The FastDay Forum

There has been quite a number of posts recently from the Australian members of this forum, where they have been temperatures over 40 degrees centigrade. The latest situation is not unusual in terms of the time of year in which it is happening, as this is the southern hemisphere summer and therefore, the hottest month of the year on average in that part of the world. What might be considered to be unusual though is that according to the latest weather reports, the highest temperatures are actually in the south of Australia (which is the part of Australia which is outside the tropics and furthest from the Equator, so you would expect it to be the north of that country that got the highest temperatures), especially in SE Australia.

Within that corner of the world is the city of Melbourne and all tennis fans will know that the Australian Open (which is the year's first Grand Slam tournament) is currently under way in that part of the world. Just to show how hot it is there just now, I can point you to this BBC report about the fact that play has had to be suspended there because it got too hot for the players. I have followed tennis quite a bit (as I am Scottish, I will of course be cheering on Andy Murray in that particular tournament) and I have seen countless occasions where play has had to be stopped because of rain.

That used to happen quite a lot at Wimbledon (and I can even remember the scenes of Sir Cliff Richard keeping everyone entertained during those occasions) before they installed the retractable roof on Centre Court, and that still continues to be a problem in the US Open and has also been a problem in the past at the French Open. On all of those occasions, people have usually been happy to see a bit of welcome hot sunshine and so for play to be suspended because it is too hot, is completely new to me.

I therefore hope that all of the Aussie members of this forum are taking the appropriate precautions in that heat, and look after themselves very well throughout this period of intense heat.

Thanks John,
Nice to know you care over there.
I'm from Sydney but have rels and friends in Melbourne who are suffering!

[Debs]

Yep
I'm sure all the Aussies are well versed in the art of keeping cool, although worryingly I saw a news report this evening which showed that some people have left their kids in cars while they nip to the shops. Should be charged with attempted manslaughter I should have thought. About 1000 people die every year from heat related illnesses. I gather some people lost power in Victoria as the system overloaded. Luckily that didn't happen here in Adelaide.

We have just spent the day indoors drinking water.

Although it is summer and heat is expected, the Climate Council has reported that this heatwave is the third hottest and heatwaves will become hotter and longer. Glad I live in Tas!

Thanks for your concern John

Not so bad for us in the Dandenongs - we haven't got over 40C yet. But high 30s still not too good for sleeping...

My 86yo mother in Adelaide is struggling to manage - although they have an air conditioner in the lounge, it doesn't cope very well in the extremes, and the rest of the house is like a sauna. Mum has a wet flannel that she uses around her neck to try to keep her temperature down.
She can't wait for Saturday. I will be visiting them again on Monday for a week - temps forecast around 30C may well seem relatively cool!

Like my dad, I still prefer this weather to the terrible cold weather and storms that some of you in the Northern Hemisphere are having...

Sassy1, I have a wet flannel round my neck with a fan blowing on it. Very wise woman, your mother!
I really don't like the heat. I much prefer the cold. You can always put on more clothes. But we take what we get. I'm pouring the water in the top but not a lot is getting through, though with the amount I'm drinking I'm surprised my kidneys aren't floating!
There was an article in the paper this moring about how the homeless suffer in this heat. I confess I hadn't given them a thought before I read this. Poor buggers!
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/we ... 30v5w.html

[Debs]

No, nor had I but it must be rough for them Chook. We have enough trouble sleeping when the temp doesn't drop much, and we have a fan in the bedroom.

In some ways, I would be happier if it was a bit colder here in the UK because although we had quite a lot of storms during December and the first part of this month with many places being flooded out, we haven't really had any sort of winter until now (we after all, supposed to be in our coldest month of the year on average here in the northern hemisphere, but there has even been a recent thaw over the USA which was getting all of the cold and snowy weather until now, and that has even extended up into parts of Canada).

I am someone who prefers the seasons to be as they are supposed to be (which is why I was happy with our heatwave six months ago during our own summer, even though that was nothing in the same class of what they are getting just now down under. As for that Australian heatwave, the latest weather charts show that this has been caused by an area of high pressure that is centred just to the east of Australia, almost midway between Australia and New Zealand.

The position of that area of high pressure means that it is currently feeding in hot northerly winds across Australia, and the reason why it is so hot in the south is because that wind is blowing out of the Australian interior which has the effect of heating it up even further. As we head towards the weekend, that area of high pressure is forecast to move away, allowing a cold front to move in towards places like Melbourne from from the Southern Ocean. That means that it should get a bit cooler then, although I don't think that this will be of much consolation to all of those who are suffering from the effects of that heat just now.

I'm with you John, I like my seasons in their proper place. It's winter now in the UK, therefore it would be great to have some 'proper' winter weather ie snow and ice, as our plants are all getting buds which will promptly die off when we do get some colder temps (probably in April!). I like Spring weather to be cool, crisp and sunny and summer to be warm but not hot, and autumn to be windy, cold with lots of crispy leaves. Cold weather is underrated! Not so cold you can snap your eyelashes off, but just that vigorous bracing freshness you only get in winter, when the air smells clean and when you get frosts that outline every leaf and twig. Maybe it's my northern british outlook but I'd much rather feel cold than too hot.

*blows a bit of fresh cool air down under*

I have just heard that we have just had our 4th mildest December on record and since there are still no real signs of any cold weather on the horizon, it looks as though this could end up being one of the mildest winters on record here in the UK. If you do get a cold winter's day here in Scotland anyway, the temperature would be struggling to get above freezing during the day and on certain days, might even stay at or below freezing all day.

With that, there might be some snow on the ground but even if there isn't, the frost would usually persist all day. So far this winter, I haven't seen a single day like that and this is the first time that I can remember, where this has been the case (we had a mild winter two years ago where there wasn't really any snow but even then, we still had the odd day with frost persisting all day yet we have nothing like that so far this winter).

What happened two days ago says it all because at that time, we had what was actually our coldest day so far this year. That day started off fairly frosty but even then, all of that frost had gone by lunchtime which would never be the case on a normal cold day here in Scotland. Then of course, the weather turned milder again yesterday and today, the Sun is shining and it feel almost spring-like out there just now. Indeed, the end of last year said it all, because we actually had trees bursting into flower just before the northern winter solstice, and that is something which we wouldn't normally be seeing until the springtime.

Well, the first part of the change is through and we've dropped from low to middle 40s to low to middle 30s. It's amazing how reasonable low 30s can feel after 4 days above 41! There's a further change still coming that believe it or not, will drop us back to high teens. Bring it on!
Unfortunately we are left with a lot of ongoing bushfires, a lot caused by lightning strikes but a few deliberately lit. The Grampians in Victoria are in dire straits. So sad. It's a beautiful natural area and not only will people lose their homes but the wildlife will suffer as well.

The change hasn't reached my neck of the woods just yet. I sure am looking forward to the cool change when it finally arrives.

[Debs]

It's finally dropped to 30 and it's a howling gale, but we've finally opened up the house and can see outside again!!! Yes, terrible about the fires, the Grampians are beautiful.

45 was our maximum yesterday, one degree less than the expected maximum. People were looking after each other and government departments were accessible for people without airconditioning. Cinemas were very popular as were shopping malls. I am glad the cool change has arrived tonight.

And some politicians in Australia have insinuated that there is no such thing as climate change pfffffft!

I use my water sprayer all day. Not in an office situation so easy to do.

My plants suffer in particular the cucumber that has succumbed to aphids that love the heat. Oh well. the basil and perpetual spinach love the heat.. as do the rocket and beans and other things i grow.

My sis never wants to fast on a very hot day. Do other people find they need to put off fast days for a slightly cooler day. I guess i havent experienced the zany hot weather of Melbourne and Adelaide here in sydney but theres been no affect on my fasting schedule at all.

I don't have a problem fasting on hot days; it may be even slightly easier. Drinking a lot of water, which is necessary in the heat, makes me feel quite full and even a little queasy so no effort not to eat.
I've just had a look at the garden. Lots of crispy burnt bits. I'd like to cut it back but the gardening folk on the radio this morning were advising against it. The theory is that plants will put out new growth and then be hit again in the next heat wave. I guess I'll have to put up with it till Autumn. Not a major problem compared to those who have lost their homes in the fires but still a bit depressing.
Enjoying the cool day though. It's 23.6 here at the moment. Thursday and Friday will be 30. Hope it doesn't go up from there.