Sydney weather: Severe heatwave in prospect prompts warnings to revellers

A blisteringly hot end to 2016 is in store for Sydney and those holidaying up the coast, prompting warnings from authorities to take care in the heat.

There's good news, though, for those making plans to enjoy the New Year's fireworks around Sydney Harbour.

Sydney's temperatures are expected to reach 30 degrees in the city and 37 in the west on Wednesday. The heat will be more punishing on Thursday, with 37 degrees tipped for the city and 42 in Penrith.

"The sea breeze won't be as strong tomorrow into Friday," Steph Spackman, a duty forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said.

The bureau's heatwave service predicts almost all of the NSW coast will have a severe heatwave for the three days from Wednesday, while most of the rest of the state will have a low-intensity heatwave. (See chart below.)

The heatwave will intensify further, reaching extreme levels along the northern strip of coastal NSW for the three days from both Thursday and Friday.

Travellers should take care to carry sufficient water, check the air-conditioner and keep an eye on how others are coping, Ms Spackman said.

"I'd hate to be stuck in a traffic jam," she said.

Relief some way off

On current forecasts, Sydney won't cool off noticeably for several more days. Tops in the city are forecast to reach 33 degrees on Friday and 40 in Penrith.

Saturday will also warm into the low 30s in the city and mid-30s in western suburbs.

Importantly, overnight temperatures aren't expect to drop below 20 degrees before next Tuesday at the earliest, inhibiting the ability of people - and pets - to cool off after the warm days.

"The evenings will be quite warm and uncomfortable due to the humidity effects," Jacob Cronje, a senior meteorologist with Weatherzone said, adding that the high humidity expected will make conditions feel a couple of degrees warmer that the stated forecasts

"The only massive drop in temperatures will arrive on Monday," he said.

Sydney is likely to get some rain on Sunday, but not until the morning or early afternoon and so conditions should remain muggy but otherwise dry for revellers out near the harbour to welcome in 2017, Mr Cronje said.

There's the chance of a thunderstorm in Sydney's west on Saturday evening but sea breezes are likely to keep any storm activity away from the coast, the bureau's Ms Spackman said.

The hot spell is potentially the warmest final week of the year for Sydney for more than half a century, taking into account averages of minimums and maximums, Weatherzone, says.

Warnings

Several agencies have issued warnings about the coming heat, particularly as it may coincide with festivals and other year-end events.

There have also been as many as eight deaths in NSW since Christmas from drowning.

"Festival organisers should ensure that partygoers have access to free drinking water, shade, first aid services, and quiet areas where patrons to relax when they need a break," Michael Gannon, president of the Australian Medical Association, said in a statement.

Festival attendees also had a role to play in ensuring their own safety, and that of people around them, especially with alcohol and other substances being consumed.

"Taking illicit substances is illegal and dangerous, and tragically we have seen deaths and hospitalisations at festivals in previous years," Dr Gannon said.

Ben Scalley, NSW Health's Director of Environmental Health, said people should take precautions as the mercury starts to climb.

"Heat-related illness is very serious and ranges from mild conditions to very serious medical emergencies," Dr Scalley said. "Heat puts a lot of strain on the body and can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. It can also make underlying health conditions worse."

People should drink lots of water and avoid alcoholic, hot or sugary drinks, he said. They should also plan their day around the heat, minimise physical activity and wear sunscreen and a hat if outdoors...

No it's not.

The Arctic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in
some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report
to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulate, at Bergen , Norway

Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a radical change
in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone.

Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north
as 81 degrees 29 minutes.

Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. 

Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones,
the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.

Very few seals and no white fish are found in the eastern Arctic,
while vast shoals of herring and smelts which have never before ventured so far north,
are being encountered in the old seal fishing grounds.

Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea will rise and
make most coastal cities uninhabitable.

* * * * * * * * *







I must apologize.

I neglected to mention that this report was from November 2, 1922, as reported
by the AP and published in The Washington Post -


This must have been caused by the Model T Ford's emissions.

The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard has seen such extreme warmth this year that the average annual temperature could end up above freezing for the first time on record, scientists said Friday.

Ketil Isaksen of the Norwegian Meterological Institute said that the average temperature in Longyearbyen, the main settlement in Svalbard, is expected to be around 0 Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) with a little over a month left of the year.

Additionally, anything white – snow, ice, glaciers, or ice sheets – will reflect energy from the sun back into space, helping to keep the Earth cool ... But when the ice melts, the sun hits the dark ocean waters instead, which absorbs rather than reflects the sun’s energy.

the sun is down all day. How does it achieve this reflection?

Longyearbyen experiences midnight sun from 19 April to 23 August, polar night from 27 October to 14 February and civil polar night from 14 November to 29 January. However, due to shading from mountains, the sun is not visible in Longyearbyen until around 8 March.

Valkie wrote on Dec 28^th, 2016 at 1:09pm:


Apology accepted. Your problems are mostly genetic and not wholly of your making.

More hot weather in Perth before a cool-down later in week

Claire Tyrrell, PerthNow
January 3, 2017 3:35pm

PERTH'S heatwave is off to a sizzling start with the mercury hitting 40C just after 2pm.

The Weather Bureau has predicted more hot weather for the coming days as a trough hit the west coast.

“Today the trough will be pronounced and will move inland — we’re going to have hot conditions,” duty forecaster Tisha Winstanley said.

It had been forecast to hit 39C but slowly reached the high of 40C at 2.17pm.

Forecasters are now predicting that it will reach 41 C on Wednesday however the mercury is set to drop by Thursday when a weak frontal system moves in.

“In the wake of that front, a ridge will start to develop,” Ms Winstanley said. “Once it develops, it will heat up again.”

Thursday’s forecast maximum is 27C, Friday’s is 24C and on Saturday the temperature is predicted to reach a lovely 26C.

However, it is forecast to climb to 31C on Sunday.