I see that, as at 3.30pm, the temperatures are up to 41.6C in Melbourne and 42.2C in Adelaide.
Here’s something to listen to while you await answers from SA Dopers.
That’s nothing; it’s a 112-year record 47 here in Key West where I’m on business…oh wait…I see you are using centigrade.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jmGkrRUNe6B94LovI88dn98m5Sxg
For reference, this will be 4 days in a row over 40c for Adelaide. And only a few weeks ago they had a longer stretch, I think 8 days, all over 40c also (a record since European settlement).
When I lived in the desert, temperatures of 42º and higher in the Summer. Key: ‘desert’.
How’s the humidity down there?
Very low, routinely under 10%. It’s a mediterranean climate.
Wasn’t last year (2009) heatwave the worst?
Doesn’t sound so bad. As long as your house has a swamp cooler.
(This, from a guy who has relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where Summer temps are like 30º. 
)
43.6 here yesterday today was supposed to be hotter.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201001/html/IDCJDW2039.201001.shtml
Thank God for my excellent aircon
We broke some records, yes. Looks like we’re going to outdo ourselves again.
I’m about to get on a bike and cycle home in the (checks BoM site) 42.8 degrees. Oh joy!
Just got back from shopping and the car-thermometer read at 43-45c for the trip. Luckily it’s only a five minute trip and the air-con in the car works a treat.
Wish I could say the same for the dodgy old cooling unit/s we have here at home. :rolleyes:
We had a day like that once here - it was only about 25% humidity when it got to 96F/35.5C. It felt much cooler than it does at 85F/90% humidity, which is more typical here. And I do mean once, I’ve never experienced anything like “dry heat” other than that. We don’t even have winters that dry, given 30+% humidity is typical all winter long here.
I’m glad that it’s not very humid if it’s going to be that hot for days at a time, so hopefully it won’t feel like a tour through hell. Does low humidity increase the risk of dehydration, though? When you’re sweating your ass off due to high humidity, it’s not hard to remember you need to drink.
Last time this happened, I was living in a pokey little apartment sandwiched between two floors made of breezeblocks that heated up. Not fun at all.
Today I am in an air conditioned cottage. Aaaaahhhh… much nicer.
Took the 2 month old Baby From Mars to Doncaster Mall and hung out in the aircon there - better than wasting the energy running our rather inefficient aircon in the one room of the house that has it. Closed all curtains and doors before we left, and got home just now to find it nice and cool inside (benefits of no North facing windows!) Meant to be cooler here tomorrow, so we’ll see.
I remember a year or two ago cycling home from work in 40+ degree weather - stopped half way at the supermarket to wander aimlessly around the frozen food section to cool off!
I’m in Adelaide - but I’m used to the temperatures now. Just keep the windows closed at night, blinds down and wait it out til evening.
Dry heat is not so much of a problem as humidity.
It just doesn’t compute. My brain knows how the seasons work, but it’s 14°F here (-10°C) as I write this and the idea that a mere half a world away, people are roasting…
I guess these extremes make us appreciate the moderate days, right? Or they make us appreciate our air conditioners and furnaces.
44.7 degrees Celsius = 112.46 degrees Fahrenheit at 4:32pm.
32.9 degrees Celsius = 91.22 degrees Fahrenheit at 11:02pm.
This is fucking ridiculous.
We’ve been in the pool since about 4:00pm, but you can only get so wrinkly.
We’re now sitting under the aircon playing video games, but it’s bedtime for me and I expect a shitty nights sleep.
I’ve managed to be away for the worst of it. Overall I don’t mind. 40C is alright with low humidity, the windows opened up, and the evaporative aircon doing its thing. We get a nice breeze through our house at night. The only thing I really don’t like about it is it just destroys our garden.
I’m working overtime to keep my container garden watered but the leaves on my tomato plants are curling and turning brown. It’s also sapping my will to exercise - the gyms I go to are nice and cool but the 15 minute walks there are a killer.
I live on the top floor of a west facing apartment building so it gets pretty nasty. I mainly stay in the study with the a/c on. The rest of the apartment is like an oven because I’m trying to keep a/c use to a minimum (although I’m pre-chilling the bedroom in preparation for sleep).
Half past midnight and still over 35C (95F). Anyone know a country where it stays about 20C (68F) year round?
20 is a bit cool isn’t it? I think my ideal would be something like Broome’s dry season all year around. I can get that for six months in Broome but need somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere for the other six.