Australia’s south eastern states swelter in heatwave

The extreme weather conditions have sparked wildfires with fire officials in the states of Victoria and South Australia issuing warnings.

In Melbourne, Victoria’s capital, the temperature hit 43.9C (111 F), leading to the Australian Open tennis tournament being halted by heat for the first time since 2009.

Paul Holman of the Victoria state ambulance service told reporters in Melbourne: “We need to respect the heat. This is a serious event. It’s not normal and it’s unprecedented”

In neighbouring South Australia, Adelaide sweltered in 44.3C (111.7F) with many people flocking to public swimming pools or beaches in order to cool down.

One swimmer said: “It’s pretty hot for the beach. I’ll probably go home in a minute. We’ve only been here for ten minutes.”

In the local zoo, elephants and other animals were given cold treats in an attempt to alleviate the intense heat.

The climate commission, a non-profit organisation of climate scientists and economists, said the heatwave is not natural.

Will Steffen from the commission said: “We’ve had neutral conditions or La Nina conditions for the last four, five years, which should bias us naturally toward cooler weather, but we’re seeing just the opposite. Again, that’s further evidence – parts of a large body of evidence – that what we’re seeing is not natural variability.”

This latest spell of hot weather follows confirmation from the Australian bureau of meteorology that 2013 was the country’s hottest year on record.

Temperatures were 1.2C above the long-term average, breaking the previous record by 0.17C.

The heat is expected to continue on Friday, before a change to cooler weather arrives at the weekend, with a southerly wind bringing cooler air off the ocean.