Scientists are warning that Australia’s wheat output could be adversely affected by the change in climate [Xinhua]
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has warned of severe heat in some parts of the country, with temperatures reaching as high as 50 Celsius.
On Thursday, it said: “We’ve seen inland troughs waving making cold fronts pass further south and this has dragged that bubble of heat back through south eastern parts of New South Wales and right through South Australia, Victoria and Southern parts of New South Wales.”
The power grid has been overburdened as residents in the south turn to air conditioning; power outages have been reported in some cities.
Australian media has called the rising temperatures a monster heat wave. On social media, some are saying ‘welcome to hell on earth in Australia’.
The extreme heat has forced authorities to cancel sporting events and issue warnings urging residents, especially children and elderly, to stay at home for the time being.
Extreme heat alerts have also been issued for Northern Australia, Queensland and Victoria while dry conditions have caused fires in wooded areas in western Australia.
Many scientists believe the extreme heat is part of the warming trend affecting the planet due to global warming; 2016 was declared the hottest year on record since measurements were taken in 1880.
According to studies conducted by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the average global temperatures were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean.
The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend; scientists say that since 2014 temperatures have been breaking records consecutively.
“Ecosystems and human activities in the Arctic will also be strongly affected owing to the particularly rapid increase in air and sea temperatures and the associated melting of land and sea ice,” the European Environment Agency said earlier this year.
Meanwhile, scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) warned that agricultural yield in Australia, particularly for wheat, would be adversely affected by climate change.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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