The Western Australian State Weather Service tweeted on Thursday that the afternoon temperature in the coastal town of Onslow set a new regional record and equaled the previous national record.
According to the authority’s website, a temperature of 50.7 degrees was last measured on January 2, 1960 at Oodnadatta Airport in South Australia. The temperature reading is expected to be officially confirmed on Friday afternoon after quality checks have been completed.
Heatwave: Australia’s silent killer
Research director at the Climate Council of Australia Martin Rice said the record heat was “part of a long-term warming trend driven by the burning of coal, oil and gas”. Rice said extreme temperatures were already having “deadly catastrophic consequences” in Australia. “Heat waves are the silent killer in Australia, causing more deaths than any other extreme weather event.” Rice warned that without a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, such record temperatures could become commonplace in Australia.
Similar temperatures expected in the coming year
Meanwhile, the US climate agency NOAA reported Thursday that the nine years between 2013 and 2021 were all among the ten warmest on record. According to this, last year the average temperature on the entire surface of the earth was 0.84 degrees Celsius above the average of the 20th century, making it the sixth warmest year on the entire record, which goes back to 1880.
NOAA climatologist Russel Vose also attributed the heat trend to the increase in greenhouse gases. According to him, it is “99 percent” likely that 2022 will also be among the “top ten” of the hottest years – unless there is an unforeseen event such as a large volcanic eruption or a large comet that hits the earth.