Australia’s scorching summer is continuing to break records, with Adelaide yesterday sweating through its hottest ever recorded February day.
The mercury climbed to 44.7C at 2.30pm in the South Australia capital, eclipsing the previous February record of 44.3C recorded back in 2004.
Travelling grey nomads, as well as locals, have been feeling the effects with air conditioners in homes and vans getting a serious workout. Since Thursday, 66 people have reportedly presented to South Australian hospitals with heat stress during a sweltering run of 40C-plus maximums.
The Herald-Sun newspaper reports that the sizzling start to the month follows the hottest January in 13 years in which bushfires have been a major problem.
Although temperatures this week are expected to stay under 40C, they are forecast to reach the high thirties later in the week and the State Emergency Service has urged the people to seek shelter.
“People need to take precautions and continue to check on the elderly and vulnerable,” SES chief officer Chris Beattie told the Herald-Sun.
While people traditionally stay at home or in their caravans and motorhomes as much as they can during extreme heat, some use visits to the big shopping malls as an escape.
The management of Adelaide’s Rundle Mall said there had been strong foot traffic throughout the hot spell.
“A lot of people cool down in the department stores and centres along the mall,” said Rundle Mall Management Authority chief executive, Ian Darbyshire. “Why would you continue to burn your own electricity when you can go into a food court and watch the world go by – we’re social animals after all.”
Do you head for the big towns and cities and their air-conditioned shops and attractions during a predicted hot spell, and as a way of minimising potential exposure to bushfires? Or are you happier sitting under the shade next to a creek in the bush? Comment below.
