# ... it ain't half hot Mum! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026 "2019-12-18T12:08:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/1 "2019-12-18T12:08:37Z")
**Cugel** posted this snippet [in another thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=22033700&postcount=78) but IMHO it’s news worthy of it’s own. The [Australian Bureau of Meteorology](https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/australia-just-registered-its-new-hottest-day-on-record/news-story/dca58ffe9921c490f21b9d1343a3d77f) recorded the _average maximum across the continent as 40.9C_ or 105.6F. That’s across a land mass not much smaller than the US’s Lower 48. The previous record was in January 2013 and it’s is likely that the new record will be broken again in the next couple of days. Add in an very early and bad fire season with 3 mil hectares (7.5 mil acres) already burnt along the East Coast and over 100 fires not controlled. And people wonder why Australian Christmas celebrations feature snowmen, reindeer and carols like Jingle Bells. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/2 "2019-12-19T01:48:50Z")
♫ Throw another bunny on the barbie, baby Rack another rabbit on to roast ♫ … Oh wait, it’s all Oz that’s melting down. 'Roos going up in flames like holiday candles. Light another other, mate. Temps around 120f (49c) on the Mojave Desert became noticeable because that’s when cereus and cholla cacti bloomed voluminously. Constricted human visual irises made the intense colors seem fluorescent. What blossoms in summer in Oz? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/3 "2019-12-19T06:05:05Z")
I don’t know what blossoms, but the most visible ecological anomaly at the moment (apart from, yanno, the continent going up in flames) is the massive number of [dead shearwaters](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/24/alaska-australia-anxious-observers-fear-mass-shearwater-deaths) washing up on beaches (I saw this myself down the coast about 3 weeks ago - it was very obvious) One more reason to all move to New Zealand ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/4 "2019-12-19T07:11:47Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > What blossoms in summer in Oz? Bloomin’ Onions? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/5 "2019-12-19T07:21:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Australia’s record for its hottest day has tumbled for the second day running, with maximum temperatures reaching an average of 41.9C on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology has just confirmed. > > The previous record of 40.9C was set just a day earlier, on Tuesday, beating the previous 40.3C mark set on 7 January 2013. > > The hottest individual December day at any location was also broken on Thursday, when Eucla, in south-east Western Australia hit 49.8C [121.6 F]. The Nullarbor came in second place at 49.7C. > **[Tahmoor coalmine evacuated as Green Wattle Creek blaze rages – as it happened](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/dec/19/nsw-and-qld-fires-australia-braces-for-extreme-bushfires-danger-amid-sweltering-heatwave-live)** > > Large parts of the country were under a total fire ban on Thursday amid extreme weather. This live blog is now closed ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/6 "2019-12-19T08:05:23Z")
We had a break from it today, but Friday might set another new record, according to forecasts ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/7 "2019-12-19T10:19:57Z")
Yep, Melbourne dodged a bullet today with max 22.4C (72.4F) It was hotter at 11pm the previous day. It was 20C hotter to the north and west. Adelaide peaked at 43.7C (110.6F) and western Sydney topped out at 47.3C (117.1F) Your turn tomorrow though. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/8 "2019-12-19T10:32:18Z")
Yep, 39.4°C (103°F) just one hundred km away from Melbourne, here in Bendigo. We’re looking at about 45°C (113°F) tomorrow. Fortunately, looks like a change is coming through late Friday/early Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-aint-half-hot-mum/845026/9 "2019-12-19T11:39:36Z")
Bleargh. I have stocked up on ice cold fruity drinks.