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Much of Australia is expected to reel under hottest summer temperatures in the last five years with mercury already soaring past 40 degrees Celsius.
It is reported that some locations are registering temperatures eight to 16 degrees above average for mid-December.
A senior meteorologist from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, Dean Narramore, informed the press that the hot weather was caused by a ‘front spread’ across much of the country which was delivering ‘heat, dry air and strong and gusty winds’.
“This is definitely unusual, particularly for large parts of the middle of the NT, where we normally would start seeing more monsoonal kind of activity,” he said.
With the risk of forest fires looming large, authorities have declared a total ban on any incendiary activity across the country.
Victoria’s Country Fire Authority had declared a total fire ban for December 26 with its chief officer, Jason Heffernan, stating that it would be ‘quite an extreme fire day across Victoria’.
“Extreme conditions are likely and potentially due to come back into the state on Tuesday, and we will talk more about total fire bans on Tuesday, which are likely to be for the more north-western parts of the state,” Heffernan was quoted.
With wide swathes of its territory being uninhabited by human populations, Australia has recently witnessed some of the world’s worst wildfires in recent history. The fires not only cause loss of vegetation and endanger wildlife, but also release greenhouse gases that further aggravate global warming.
Authorities have advised residents to stay out of the sun, remain hydrated and seek a place to stay cool.
With these weather conditions, upcoming Christmas festivities are bound to be affected as not many Australians would be keen to make it an outdoor event. While hot summers are a vital part of Australian Christmas celebrations, unprecedented changes in climate caused by global warming can play spoilsport to the festive spirit.