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TEMPERATURES IN SOUTHERN Australia topped 49 degrees Celsius today, shattering previous records as sizzling citizens received free beer and heat-stressed bats fell from trees.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported temperatures of 49.1 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) north of Adelaide, while inside the city temperatures reached 46.6 Celsius, a fraction above a record that had stood since 1939.
Adelaide residents are used to sweltering days during the southern hemisphere summer, but even they struggled with the oppressive temperatures.
More than 13 towns across south Australia have smashed their own heat records, with some of the state forecast to see temperatures of 50 degrees by the end of the day.
The state’s health authorities early today reported that 44 people had received emergency treatment for heat-related illness in the past 24 hours.
“Remember to check on elderly friends, relatives and neighbours, and those who are unwell,” the state emergency services tweeted.
Health authorities were also forced to issue a public warning to avoid contact with hundreds of heat-stressed bats falling from trees in parkland areas.
While thousands of people flocked to the beach to cool off in the surf, hundreds have taken to shopping centres to stay out of the heat.
Free beer
At the Red Lion Hotel, publicans gave a free beer to each of their patrons while the temperature remained above 45 degrees. Around 100 people lined up for their free drink for over an hour.
At Adelaide Zoo pandas were given popsicles, tortoises got cool water wipedowns and hyenas took a dip.
But the temperatures are also testing municipal services, with SunCity buses forced to cut their services, leaving commuters searching for trams or trains to get home.
Emergency services are on the alert as more than 13 districts are under threat of possible bushfires.
Meanwhile, a total fire ban was issued further south in the island state of Tasmania, where authorities continued to battle blazes.
Parts of southeastern state of Victoria were also sweltering through temperatures above 40 degrees. The soaring temperatures follow a heatwave last week that saw Australian towns among the hottest places on Earth.
As many as one million fish were discovered dead last week along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern Australia, with thousands more found killed some 900km away in the north of New South Wales on Monday.
The government has launched a review into the mass fish kill.
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Perfect. Become even more dehydrated.
@Earl of Daventry: You got there before me.
@Earl of Daventry: Australian logic to the letter.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: this coming from a country who gave out Guinness after giving blood
@Earl of Daventry: If it gets any hotter they’re handing out free yokes if the beer doesn’t work.
Today i will be daydreaming its summer, and my job is to hand out popsicles to pandas.
Beer? In a heatwave? That’s the last thing you should be drinking!
@Mr Bojangles: and queueing for an hour to get, bonkers.
@Brianán McBride: they didn’t queue for an hour – they had free beer for an hour while the temp was over 45
@Pablo: my understanding was that they queued for an hour also, maybe the language and punctuation used is ambiguous.
@Pablo: “Around 100 people lined up for their drink for over an hour”. It’s right there under the subtitle Free Beer.
@Pablo: just clarifying. They did queue for an hour to get beer… a line of people stood in that heat outside the hotel for an hour. In that region, where the pub was, it was over 45c for over an hour. The deal in the pub was that if it was over 45c, they would hand out free beer. It was on the channel 7 news last night here in Aus
Great way of getting rid of that Fosters……
One million fish die and the headline is free beer. Just shows where the journal’s head is.
@Marcia Craine: Plenty of fish in the sea
@Ajax Penumbra: not any more
@Declan Quinn: Forgive the pun, but a million fish in the sea is a drop in the ocean.
@Ajax Penumbra: it wasn’t in the sea, it was in the Murray Darling river and caused primarily of the drought that’s been going on here for a few years now in that area. Basically the depth of the river has dropped significantly over the years resulting in the rapid growth of a poisonous algae bloom which kills the fish. The majority are Murray cod which can live up to 20 years. Huge fish. Very sad to see so many fish die like that. Basically suffocating
Birds falling dead, bats brains fried, apples cooked in heat, humans struggling to survive – time for climate action as Australia overtakes Qatar to become world’s largest exporter of gas and plans oil drilling in ocean, as well as giving priority to King coal over renewable energy.
Fair dinkum
Ned:”Hay skippy fetch us a beer will ya!”
Skippy:”nt.nt nt.nt….nt.”
@Dave Walsh: you’d have to be of a certain vintage to get this one…
Castlemain xxxx all the way
Flamin galahs
Article about Australia, throw in a photo of a kangaroo to make it authentic.
Twas 42 at 6.30pm in Melbourne this evening. Nothing else to do but have a beer
Perfect heading to get a record Journal response. Will this happen?
How much does it cost to fly to Australia
Queued up for an hour for a free beer. Would the tight morons not go across the road and just buy one without the queue? They must have been Irish.
@Ronan Sexton: pints cost 13 dollars. A free one now and again is nice
Like an Angel crying on your tongue!!
I wouldn’t complain..
I was off the beer until this week :-/
Good bye to the Carp https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/european-carp-public-enemy-no-1-in-the-murraydarling-basin/news-story/1e1c77892fa7f8dafc1cca6ddc1daac5 . We were there 3 years ago and the evidence of Carp ruining the river network was overwhelming. even the River birds won’t eat it as it is just disgusting. Hopefully the virus that they might of [accidentally] put into the river network does not effect other species.
have your say