40 degrees Celsius = 104 degrees Fahrenheit
50 degrees Celsius = 122 degrees Fahrenheit
We live in an alternate universe Down Under, where the weather from the Northern Hemisphere saturates our news, but our own weather hardly rates a mention. Polar Vortexes, Sub Zero temperatures, high winds and destruction - so much more exciting than boring old heatwaves and the consequences. Australian weather? We just accept that it's summer, so we expect ridiculously-high temps, with drought/and/or floods/and/or bushfires/and/or cyclones thrown in. What's new? It happens every year when December rolls around. (Funnily enough, that's when I escape to the Northern Hemisphere, being someone who prefers cold to heat, lol!)
The fact that this heatwave has been in full force for about two months, makes it a bit harder to ignore. So I thought I'd do a post and show you a typical day in Australia during 40 - 50 degree Celsius temperatures (Conversion at top).
 |
| This photo was taken near Brisbane (where I live), on a day when it was expected to reach 50C. I think it only got to 46C. Welooked at the sunrise, and commented - 'Looks like we're in for it!' So if you're lucky enough to be at the beach on the Sunshine Coast for the weekend, you head to the wonderful Baked Poetry Cafe in Peregian Beach and imbibe a cooling iced coffee - bliss! |
 |
| Baked Poetry Cafe iced coffee, the best I've ever tasted! |
Okay, you can't sit there under the shady trees drinking coffee all day, even if it's 46C, so let's head for the beach! Yeah, yeah, I know, you shouldn't be sunbaking in this heat, but what the heck! You can easily cool off with a refreshing dunk!
 |
| If you can't get to the beach, you might cool off under the moisture fans wherever you see one! |
But we coast dwellers always remember the Outback, where there's no beach and little water for pools - (they head for the nearest dam)...drought is severe and stock are dying.
| The Australian Outback...always sizzling! A great setting for Australian romances...from Australian authors like Annie Seaton, Jenny Schwartz, Anna Campbell et al... |
| Our native koala is parched too. Anywhere for a drink! Lucky suburban koalas. Bushfires always abound in summer, especially in 40C+ heat and in the south where the heat is dry! Queensland where I live is humid. |
Victoria, in the south of Australia, has had on-going bushfires for weeks. They're really suffering. Many homes have been burnt to the ground.
And of course, it's not a Queensland summer without bushfires. Here's one on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast near Brisbane.
| It was 54C this day! What about writing? Not easy in the heat...  Too hot to be inside, so the Vannguard Writers Group met at the Coffee Club in the city and participated in a writing exercise at the Wednesday Farmer's Market.  My youngest daughter lives in Townsville, where they've already had their first cyclone scare for the year. Luckily, Townsville was spared. It hit the towns to the south, but not too badly.  At the end of another unbearably hot day in Brisbane, you head to South Bank beach, which is open all year round, well into the night.  Too hot to go home to bed, so you may as well take a ride on the Brisbane Wheel.  Ha ha! I hope you enjoyed my photo essay. And the good news is that it has cooled down a little!
And I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, Tracks, where a young woman goes on a 1,700 mile trek across the deserts of Western Australia with her four camels and faithful dog. Drama/Biography/Adventure
  |
54 comments:
Now that's hot. I'd be living under one of those fans. Hope there's some rain soon to help with the fires.
And I'll take the cold over that kind of heat any day.
That picture of the moisture fans is fascinating. Are they a frequent sight? I am definitely not a hot weather fan. I love winter and colder/cooler temps :)
Wow that's hot. I prefer summer to winter but neither when it gets to be too extreme temperature wise.
Is that ice cream in that glass of coffee? If so, I'm IN! One of the biggest adjustments for me when I was visiting England was the temperature difference. I'd comment on how cold it was for June and they'd give me the temp and I'd think, "NO, it's not nearly THAT cold." Then I'd realize it's Celsius there.
That is hot indeed, but beats crummy snow 6 days out of the week
I love the heat but even I might cook in those temps. But I'd take them over the cold.
Thoroughly enjoyed your photos, Denise. I don't like the heat, that's why I moved from the southern US to the west coast of Canada. Generally we have mild temps all year round, lots of rain, but less snow and other ills than most of Canada. I'd melt in that heat, I thrive in the cool.
If you get a chance, drop by my blog to see post about Roland. His surgery was successful. Seeing as he's a frequent WEP-er, I thought I'd let you know.
That is hot, too hot to think straight surely. How do you ever get any writing done or work or anything else? Are your houses air conditioned?
That iced coffee looks wonderful. Yuck, anything over 100 degrees is too hot.
Great photos. I live in hot climes too, but nothing as tumultuous as yours :) Never a dull moment down under. I'd sit all day long with that coffee, looks totally divine.
I HAVE heard about the terrible fires there. Can't imagine that kind of heat. I worry about the wildlife (and people too) and how they cope. Hoping it cools down soon, but that probably would mean lots of rain. :- /
Sounds so hot. And sorry for the drought. Even though I'm hating the cold, too hot doesn't sound much better. Love your pictures.
Well, at least it's stopped raining over here in England. For now.
mood
Moody Writing
The hottest day I've ever experienced was 46 in Sydney semi recently. I can't even imagine 50 degrees!!!
Neither do i want to, Lynda. But thanks to air con, pools and beaches, we survived!
Ha, Moody, when we were in Europe over Christmas, all we saw on Sky News was the dreadful British weather. I hope your summer is brilliant!
Thanks Natalie. I had fun choosing the pics. Have tons more of course. i'd prefer the cold any day.
L.G. thanks for caring about the opposite end of the spectrum. The animals suffer dreadfully in fire and heat. It is beginning to cool down, and yes, with a little rain. Next will come the floods...
Must admit, I do take my time over that iced coffee every time I get up to the beach. It certainly is divine...and cooling! One would think it would be hotter at your place, but no?
I'll drink to that L. Diane.
Most houses are air conditioned, as are cars etc. If not people go to shopping centres to cool off when they get out of the pool or beach. Getting writing done is a problem. I can only work in air conditioning, but the heat depletes energy levels, so I'm not writing near enough!
Canada should keep you cool, D.G. Have visited Roland and yourself this morning!
Lack of energy is a major problem, but I guess in a cold climate you spend a lot of energy keeping warm!
Yes, and the ice cream is home made in the cafe!! Absolutely delicious all round. Keeps you nice and chilled and the sea breezes help.
Celsius and Fahrenheit make a BIG difference.
The moisture fans are found in some cafes and at the top of hills for walkers and in any place where people gather to cool off.
50C is way too hot! Really gotta spend it at the beach. I don't drink coffee, but that sundae looking thing made me want caramel ice cream sundae. Yum.
Wild fires are a constant threat here in NorCal. Dry lightening is almost worse than heat wave, but in this drought, I fear summer is not the only season we'll have to fear fires.
I bet your wishing for something closer to 20C to make your winter seem like - winter.
have a good week Dx.
........dhole
Great photos -- could taste that iced coffee from here, yum! But your weather does make the news here, Denise. You're having some REALLY hot weather. Think I'd just curl up inside.
My garden is absolutely fried from this heatwave. Even the dog has ice-cubes on tap!
Hey Donna, thanks for dropping by. We move into Autumn (Fall) next month and that is one of the best times of the year in Oz. But our temps have started dropping here in Brisbane, thank goodness!
Our winter is very short and doesn't start until June...x
Yeah, you probably heard a bit more about it this year as 2013 was our hottest year on record!
Let's forget the garden, hey Donna! Poor grass! But once it rains, all will be sweet again! My little dog has been lethargic! My daughter took hers to the vet as she couldn't understand why her dog wasn't her usual hyperactive self!
Southwest Louisiana can be like Hell with the fires put out so I can sympathsize with you! After Hurricane Rita in sweltering August with no power and no air conditioning was terrible!!!! Thanks for the mention on your post! :-)
Hope you continue to improve Roland.
Hi Denise .. when I left South Africa I'd had enough of the heat .. only to get to the UK and experience a heatwave summer here ... nothing like 40 - 50 degs C though! I cannot cope, but I don't like cold either .. so mostly little old England suits me.
Wonderful shots ... and we do hear about your fires ... but I guess Syria, the Ukraine, the Olympics hit slightly higher at the moment .. and our floods, their blizzards etc
Brisbane must be lovely though .. mostly! Happy rest of the summer - Hilary
Our Earth has some real wacky weather. We'll never be able to predict the weather. That's why they call them weather men. They don't know whether its going to rain, whether its going to be sunny, etc.
Ye gads, that's hot. When our heat wave rolls around ('bout when you start to shiver) I'm gonna find me and iced coffee like your photo!
Ha Ha Southpaw, we don't shiver for long!
I like your little joke Stephen! We do give our weather men a hard time. Obviously, meteorology is not an exact science!
I have been hearing about the heatwave down there... too bad we can't just share, you send some of your heat and we can send some of this frigid air and snow! It's snowing again tonight..
When we have heatwaves here I stay inside in the air conditioning. The only bad thing is that our car doesn't have air conditioning, so it seems to be a VERY long ride home from work every day...
Yes, wouldn't it be nice if we could divide the temps down the middle.
I've learned so much from this post Denise! Here in the UK we've been deluged with flood waters for weeks and many people's homes are underwater. It's good to picture the heat and remember it won't always be so cold and wet and miserable, but sad for you all that animals and people are struggling in such high temperatures there. Thanks for sharing :-)
Amazing. we're freezing and I swear snow that fell in December is still on the ground, but the truth is while we are frozen, this has been the warmest year on record for the world! As your pictures attest. It's even colder here than my favorite cold place, Alaska. This week costs for a new boiler, chimney and the oil to keep warm $9,000! Soon our old house will be completely new! Thanks for sharing your heat wave! ~ Feeling warmer already ~
Hi Denise, even though I live in a tropical country and we have hot sunny days all the time, I was in Sydney in December when some of the heatwaves came and I experienced it first hand.
Nas
Yikes! That's hot!!! I live near the Pacific coast in Washington state - it's been a little drier this winter for us, but it's still a pretty damp, cool place most of the year round. I don't know if I could handle the kind of heat you've shown in this post. Wow!
Hi Denise,
Those are some seriously hot temperatures you endure. I'm in the Northern Hemisphere and I've always thought it unfair that there seems to be a bias towards the Northern Hemisphere. How the heck would they work out a winter games in the Southern Hemisphere. Have it in July, perhaps. I don't see why not.
I wish to thank you for your very kind comment on my site, Denise.
You are very special, my dear friend.
Gary :)
Not enough snow for winter games Gary. Although lack of snow seems to be a problem no matter where they're held.
Somehow you survive. The other side of the Pacific eh? So different.
Fiji knows how to turn on the heat too, but Sydney must have tried you out. It was hotter than Queensland at times.
Oh boy. No oil heaters needed here !
We're no strangers to floods either.
The older I get, the less i can tolerate high temperatures. More and more often, I find myself coming into the house during our summertime, and collapsing, while gasping, "Thank God for air conditioning!"
I'm with you Susan!
Glad you escaped to colder climates for part of the summer in Queensland, Denise. Wish I could have, too!
Yes, it's great to get away and freeze for a few weeks, lol!
Post a Comment