Australia’s southern states are scorching in extreme heat that could break temperature records in Victoria and South Australia on Tuesday.

At Ouyen and Mildura in north-west Victoria, temperatures of 49C were forecast for Tuesday afternoon. If reached, they would break the state’s all-time temperature record of 48.8C, set in Hopetoun on Black Saturday in 2009. By 1pm, temperatures of 46.2C in Ouyen and 44.8C in Mildura had been recorded.

At Ouyen and Mildura in north-west Victoria, temperatures of 49C were forecast for Tuesday afternoon. If reached, they would break the state’s all-time temperature record of 48.8C, set in Hopetoun on Black Saturday in 2009. By 1pm, temperatures of 46.2C in Ouyen and 44.8C in Mildura had been recorded.

In Adelaide, the mercury hit 40C before 9.30am on Tuesday, after overnight lows of 35C, BoM observations showed.

Extreme heat is the most common cause of weather-related hospitalisations in Australia, and kills more people than all other natural hazards combined. What does exposure to extreme heat – such as a temperature of 49C – do to the body?

  • Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    I lived in Perth for several years and I’ve seen 45 degree heat there. It’s a desert, so it’s dry heat. But that’s hot. Real hot. 49-50 is just insane.

    • Damage@feddit.it
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      8 days ago

      I live in Italy, in the valley around our biggest river. It’s humid as fuck. Summers used to reach 32-35°C. Nowadays 40-45°C is not uncommon. Our offices are usually air-conditioned, but production areas aren’t.

      • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        yeah, it was damn near 100% humidity the 46 day i was there. i was moving, too. fucking sucked but i had the joy of knowing it was my last day in texas.

        i have no idea how much water i went through, but we moved a tiny studio successfully.