2019 has already broken 37 weather records
Extreme weather has wreaked havoc worldwide this month. North America was in the grip of a polar vortex, while 35 stations in the southern hemisphere have recorded all-time highs.
Millions of Americans braved Arctic-like temperatures as low as - 56 °F (- 49 °C) that paralyzed the US Midwest. The American state of Illinois experienced its coldest overnight temperature ever as the mercury dropped to -36.1°C (-32.98 F). This historic deep freeze led to the cancellation of more than 2,300 flights and killed at least 23 people.
On the flipside, 29 weather stations in Australia recorded all-time highs. The South Australian capital Adelaide on Jan. 24 recorded the hottest day ever for a major Australian city - a searing 46.6 C (115.9 F). On the same day, the South Australian town of Port Augusta, recorded 49.5 C (121.1 F) - the highest maximum anywhere in Australia last month. The heat has caused infrastructure failures, wildfire deaths, bushfires and a rise in hospital admissions. Several wildlife species have also suffered, with reports of mass deaths of wild horses, native bats and fish in drought-affected areas.
So what's going on, and what's causing the chaotic weather?
Experts say this huge disparity in global temperatures is proof that the planet is warming. Mathematical models predict that in a stable climate, the number of hot and cold records should be equal, and new records occur less frequently over time. However, in our warming climate, record highs have begun to outpace record lows, with the imbalance growing for the past three decades.
Below is a table of the temperature records set in 2019, according to weather records compiler Maximiliano Herrera.
Record high temperatures in 2019:
Kulgera (Australia) max. 47
Griffith (Australia) max. 46.4
Albury (Australia) max. 45.3
Woolbrook (Australia) max. 38.7
Cooma (Australia) max. 39.5
Cootamundra (Australia) max. 43.6
Eucla (Australia) max. 48.6
Christmas Island Aero (Australia) max. 31.6
Tarcoola (Australia) max. 49.1
Ceduna (Australia) max. 48.6
Cleve (Australia) max. 46.7
Adelaide (Australia) max. 47.7
Adelaide Airport (Australia) max. 45.8
Port Lincoln Airport (Australia) max. 48.3
Port Augusta (Australia) max. 49.5
Clare (Australia) max. 44.9
Snowtown (Australia) max. 47.3
Parafield (Australia) max. 47.7
Edinburgh (Australia) max. 47.5
Roseworthy (Australia) max. 48.3
Nuriootpa (Australia) max. 46
Kuitpo (Australia) max. 44
Strathalbyn (Australia) max. 46.7
Deniliquin (Australia) max. 47.2
Swan Hill (Australia) max. 47.5
Kerang (Australia) max. 47
Kyabram (Australia) max. 47.1
Sale (Australia) max. 45.5
Young (Australia) max. 43.5
Pointe des Trois-Bassins (Reunion Islands, France) max. 37
Cilaos (Reunion Islands, France) max. 31.2
Gobabis (Namibia) max. 41.7
Santiago (Chile) max. 38.3
Santiago Airport (Chile) max. 39.3
Tobalaba (Chile) max. 37.4
Record low temperatures in 2019
Rockford (Illinois, US) min. -35
Moline (Illinois, US) min. -36.1
Weird extremes like this may become more commonplace in the future: scientists say a warming world will likely be a more extreme world.
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