Post by Captain Smiley on Feb 5, 2009 19:59:31 GMT -5
www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25014131-5001021,00.html
New warnings for hottest place on planet - NSW
February 06, 2009 11:17am
NURSING homes have been ordered to take special precautions to protect their 170,000 elderly residents from the heat wave after it was revealed NSW will be the hottest place on the planet this Sunday.
Government officials will begin an audit of all 3000 nursing homes in Australia to ensure appropriate air conditioning facilities are installed.
The audit was previously planned but will be stepped up after revelations NSW will become the hottest place in the world on Sunday, with temperatures expected to soar to 47C.
Not even the plains of Africa or the deserts of the Middle East will be as hot.
Worst hit will be residents in the western NSW towns of Ivanhoe, Tibooburra and Broken Hill.
Sydney will not be spared either, with the mercury set to reach 44C in the western suburb of Penrith.
If you have a great warm weather picture, send it to us via webphoto@dailytelegraph.com.au . We'll put the best in a gallery
Interactive hot weather survival guide
NSW hotspots (pdf document)
While the hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to pose an extreme fire danger, parents across the state have also been warned their children's sports matches may not go ahead if coaches deem it too hot to play.
The initiative has been applauded by medical authorities, who said the unusually warm conditions were particularly dangerous for the young and the elderly.
Trains: Go-slow planned after track buckling fears
Special section: Wild weather
The heatwave conditions across Australia are not being experienced anywhere else in the world. A search of global forecasting sites by The Daily Telegraph yesterday found no other temperatures would come near 47C.
Parts of central east Africa and a few places in Pakistan will reach the mid-to high-30s, with towns and cities bordering the Sahara desert and sub-Saharan Africa due for mild, cloudy days on Sunday in the mid-20s.
Gallery: How animals beat the heat
Gallery: Aussie humans try not to swelter
Gallery: Queensland floods as we sweat
In NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology said the central-western townships of Griffith and Broken Hill had already been affected by the heatwave, with the temperatures exceeding 40C for a record-breaking nine days.
The nights have also been warm, with temperatures staying close to 25C.
Meteorologist Deryn Griffiths said the trend would continue across the weekend, with no respite in inland areas.
"Large parts of the state are going to be in the mid-40s for the weekend and even western Sydney will reach 44C on Sunday," she said.
"Right along the coast you'll get sea breezes and we're expecting it to be cooler, but the temperatures will still be in the mid-30s."
A cool change would bring a high of just 27C for Monday, with the mercury plummeting to 21C on Tuesday.
Latest weather information
With little or no rainfall expected in between, NSW Medical Association president Dr Brian Moreton said it was important that people who were planning physical activity were sensible about it.
"We ought to have sports organisations recognising that just as they'll cancel an event if it's too wet, they should be doing the same when it's the opposite, when it's an unusual heatwave," he said.
Penrith Junior Cricket Association president Greg Liggins said an email had already gone out to clubs warning that games would be called off if coaches felt it was too hot for players.
"We have a duty of care to our kids and we won't take any unnecessary steps to jeopardise their health," he said.
"If we do end up playing, we'll make sure that extra drink breaks are taken."
With fans and air-conditioners likely to run all weekend, energy suppliers are also bracing for trouble.
In Sydney, the system hit peak demand yesterday, with more than 14,000mW of electricity being used, creating a new summer record.
Energy Australia spokesman Anthony O'Brien said additional maintenance crews had been rostered to ensure problems were dealt with quickly.
"You can't give a cast-iron guarantee that there won't be any faults, particularly if it gets very hot in areas like Broken Hill but the most important thing is to make sure the network is in a state to operate at maximum efficiency, which is what we've done," he said.
Officials from the Department of Environment and Climate Change will meet in Sydney today to discuss the closure of national parks.
A spokesman said parks experiencing extreme temperatures would be closed to the public as a safety precaution.
Officers will be briefed by their fire management unit before making a final decision. "We have closed parks in the past because of extreme weather. We are doing it for the safety of the public," the spokesman said.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
I'd take the snow over living on the hottest place on the planet anyday.
New warnings for hottest place on planet - NSW
February 06, 2009 11:17am
NURSING homes have been ordered to take special precautions to protect their 170,000 elderly residents from the heat wave after it was revealed NSW will be the hottest place on the planet this Sunday.
Government officials will begin an audit of all 3000 nursing homes in Australia to ensure appropriate air conditioning facilities are installed.
The audit was previously planned but will be stepped up after revelations NSW will become the hottest place in the world on Sunday, with temperatures expected to soar to 47C.
Not even the plains of Africa or the deserts of the Middle East will be as hot.
Worst hit will be residents in the western NSW towns of Ivanhoe, Tibooburra and Broken Hill.
Sydney will not be spared either, with the mercury set to reach 44C in the western suburb of Penrith.
If you have a great warm weather picture, send it to us via webphoto@dailytelegraph.com.au . We'll put the best in a gallery
Interactive hot weather survival guide
NSW hotspots (pdf document)
While the hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to pose an extreme fire danger, parents across the state have also been warned their children's sports matches may not go ahead if coaches deem it too hot to play.
The initiative has been applauded by medical authorities, who said the unusually warm conditions were particularly dangerous for the young and the elderly.
Trains: Go-slow planned after track buckling fears
Special section: Wild weather
The heatwave conditions across Australia are not being experienced anywhere else in the world. A search of global forecasting sites by The Daily Telegraph yesterday found no other temperatures would come near 47C.
Parts of central east Africa and a few places in Pakistan will reach the mid-to high-30s, with towns and cities bordering the Sahara desert and sub-Saharan Africa due for mild, cloudy days on Sunday in the mid-20s.
Gallery: How animals beat the heat
Gallery: Aussie humans try not to swelter
Gallery: Queensland floods as we sweat
In NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology said the central-western townships of Griffith and Broken Hill had already been affected by the heatwave, with the temperatures exceeding 40C for a record-breaking nine days.
The nights have also been warm, with temperatures staying close to 25C.
Meteorologist Deryn Griffiths said the trend would continue across the weekend, with no respite in inland areas.
"Large parts of the state are going to be in the mid-40s for the weekend and even western Sydney will reach 44C on Sunday," she said.
"Right along the coast you'll get sea breezes and we're expecting it to be cooler, but the temperatures will still be in the mid-30s."
A cool change would bring a high of just 27C for Monday, with the mercury plummeting to 21C on Tuesday.
Latest weather information
With little or no rainfall expected in between, NSW Medical Association president Dr Brian Moreton said it was important that people who were planning physical activity were sensible about it.
"We ought to have sports organisations recognising that just as they'll cancel an event if it's too wet, they should be doing the same when it's the opposite, when it's an unusual heatwave," he said.
Penrith Junior Cricket Association president Greg Liggins said an email had already gone out to clubs warning that games would be called off if coaches felt it was too hot for players.
"We have a duty of care to our kids and we won't take any unnecessary steps to jeopardise their health," he said.
"If we do end up playing, we'll make sure that extra drink breaks are taken."
With fans and air-conditioners likely to run all weekend, energy suppliers are also bracing for trouble.
In Sydney, the system hit peak demand yesterday, with more than 14,000mW of electricity being used, creating a new summer record.
Energy Australia spokesman Anthony O'Brien said additional maintenance crews had been rostered to ensure problems were dealt with quickly.
"You can't give a cast-iron guarantee that there won't be any faults, particularly if it gets very hot in areas like Broken Hill but the most important thing is to make sure the network is in a state to operate at maximum efficiency, which is what we've done," he said.
Officials from the Department of Environment and Climate Change will meet in Sydney today to discuss the closure of national parks.
A spokesman said parks experiencing extreme temperatures would be closed to the public as a safety precaution.
Officers will be briefed by their fire management unit before making a final decision. "We have closed parks in the past because of extreme weather. We are doing it for the safety of the public," the spokesman said.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
I'd take the snow over living on the hottest place on the planet anyday.
opps?
