‘Hot air trap’ to cause blistering heatwave in Australia

Australia is braced for temperatures to climb as high as 47°C in the next few days and leading into next week.

The soaring mercury is the result of twin pressure systems “trapping heat” on either side of the country, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, which has issued a severe heatwave warning.

New South Wales is expected to bear the brunt of the searing heat, but much of inland Australia will also feel the burn.

“Usually the way the weather works in Australia is that we might get heat building a little bit, but then will have a strong cold front sweeping across southern Australia, and it’ll push that hot air out and away,” senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told 9 News.

“What we’ve seen, and will see, is that this high pressure is going to hold the heat over the continent and really just recirculate it and intensify it.”

According to Weatherzone, South Australian town Oodnadatta will see temperatures hit 44°C, 45°C and 46°C until Friday.

Other locations in South Australia, including Tarcoola, Marree and Oak Valley, are also tipped to reach 47°C on at least one occasion before the week is out.

Sydney is expected to be a cooler 35°C.

As the Earth continues to warm, extreme and unprecedented climatic episodes are sadly only becoming more common.

In September, db reported that an ‘atmospheric river’ was threatening California’s harvest, with rainfall predicted to reach five inches in mountain vineyards, sparking concerns over botrytis, mildew and bunch rot setting in.

Wineries in China were also concerned following the release of a study in July which found that China will experience periods of extreme heat far more frequently than Europe or the US. The World Weather Attribution Study showed that China was “50 times more likely” to suffer heatwaves, and will be faced with them approximately every five years compared with every 15 years in North America and every 10 years in Southern Europe.