Australia still under threat of fire. Temperatures in Canberra hit a new record high for February on Saturday as fires threaten the capital, Météo France said on Sunday.
Authorities in Canberra on Friday placed the Australian federal capital on alert for the first time since 2003 due to the threat of forest fires.
42.7 degrees, a record for February
On Saturday, the thermometer climbed to 42.7 degrees Celsius, a record for February exceeding that of 42.2 degrees set in 1968, Météo France meteorologist Étienne Kapikian said on Twitter.
BREAKING! at #Canberra, summer 2019-2020 now holds the historical monthly heat records for each of the 3 months of summer …
DEC: 41.1 ° C 21-12-2019 (> 39.7, 27-12-1938)
JAN: 44.0 ° C 04-01-2020 (> 42.8, 11-01-1939)
FEV: 42.7 ° C 01-02-2020 (> 42.2, 01-02-1968)– Etienne Kapikian (@EKMeteo) February 1, 2020
—
The temperature is also the third highest recorded in the city in all months, he added. With the records recorded in January and December, the southern summer of 2019-2020 will have been the warmest ever listed, according to him. The Australian meteorological office did not confirm this data immediately.
Regarding fires, the main threat comes from the fires in the Ororal Valley, where 18,000 ha of vegetation have been devastated.
Another 80 fires in the south of the country
Authorities believe that this heat wave, accompanied by dry winds, creates conditions conducive to forest fires in parts of the states of New South Wales and Victoria. More than 80 fires are still raging in these two states.
The temperature in the city of Richmond in the state of New South Wales reached 46.8 degrees on Saturday, said the meteorologist from Météo France.
