Most grey nomads like it hot, but there’s a reason why the vast majority head south for the summer months … the north is just too hot!
The scorching temperatures currently being experienced in notorious heat traps such as Marble Bar in WA are a case in point. The Bureau of Meteorology says the mercury in the Pilbara town has been hovering around the mid to low 40s since December 1. On Monday, the temperature reached 48 degrees Celsius, with residents – and any experience-seeking tourists still left in the area – warned to take extreme care.
“There is a lot of scientific evidence out there that describes a heatwave as a silent killer,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Neil Bennett told WA Today. “People may think well, a heatwave forecast in the Pilbara, what value is that because it is always hot, but there are things that happen to people during those heatwaves if they’re not careful, if they don’t take precautions.”
The owner of the Iron Clad Hotel in Marble Bar, Thomas Fox, told WA Today it was important to remember basic survival strategies when it got hot.
“I don’t find myself stranded in the desert without water because you will die,” he said. “Next time it’s 40 degrees in Perth, turn your heater on instead of your air conditioner and you will know what it’s like here.”
Marble Bar famously holds the world record for the most consecutive days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, about 37.8 degrees Celsius, breaching the mark for 160 days.
On one of our many trips across the Nullarbor, we stoped at Eucla where the temperature was sitting on 47 deg, the water tanks had burst therefore they had no air-conditioning, a bit warm there so we moved on to the Nullarbor Home stead, here their fridges had given up the ghost, but the beer was still cool, so we stayed there because the out-side temp had reached 52 deg, We saw birds flying along and dropping dead on the wing, we’ll never cross that Nullarbor again in the Summer, just too dangerous.