Source: The New York Times

A record-breaking heatwave has been gripping Australia for days now, and still temperatures have climbed to levels that feel almost unreal even by Australian standards. The heat that doesn’t just make headlines, but leaves scars.Australia is no stranger to heat; people expect it, plan for it, and complain about it, as bushfires are flaring. Thousands of homes have gone dark for many communities; it feels uncomfortably familiar. This has been like a warning heard before, but maybe not fully absorbed. Experts say this heatwave is among the worst seen in decades. Some compare it to moments etched deeply into Australia’s memory. As reported by The Bureau of Meteorology the heat is coming from a very large hot air mass that first built up in Western Australia’s interior and then moved eastward.

Australia’s heatwave pushes Victoria into days of extreme heat

By Wednesday, parts of southeast Australia were entering the fifth straight day of severe to intense heat. Victoria, the country’s second-most populous state, has been hit particularly hard. Emergency officials say the heatwave is the worst the state has seen since the devastating Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, when 173 people lost their lives. “We are now into day five,” said Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch. And it appears the situation isn’t easing quickly. Authorities expect up to eight consecutive days of severe to extreme heat. That’s a long time to stay alert and exhausted.Extreme heat does more than scorch landscapes but it quietly stresses infrastructure. At its peak, power outages affected around 105,000 properties across Victoria. By Wednesday, that number had dropped to roughly 11,000, but the pressure remains. High demand for cooling systems pushes ricity networks close to their limits. For families without power, the heat feels heavier.

Bushfires burn across Victoria as temperatures shatter records

Firefighters have been battling multiple major bushfires across Victoria. At least six large fires were active, with three reportedly out of control. One of the most serious blazes is burning near the Carlisle River in the Otways region. More than 11,000 hectares have already been scorched. At least 16 buildings are gone. Fire authorities say this fire is far from contained. Winds will return. The landscape will dry further. The season is still young. That part worries people the most.“We are early in the summer,” said Chris Hardman, chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria. And the environment is only heating up. Meteorologists say the numbers are startling. David Crock from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology described the temperatures as “very unusual.” Around 20 weather stations across western Victoria recorded either all-time highs or January records in a single day.Some towns in the Mallee region reached 48.9 degrees Celsius. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Victoria. Elsewhere, the heat spread north. Parts of western New South Wales and south-west Queensland also saw temperatures soar above 48°C by late afternoon. It feels relentless. Like the heat has nowhere else to go.