Australia: January is the hottest month ever

Australia recorded the hottest month of its history in January, with average temperatures above 30 ° C (86 ° F) for the first time.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the extreme heat was "unprecedented" during the summer period of the country.

At least five days in January were among the 10 hottest ever recorded, with average daily maximum temperatures of 40 ° C.

The heat caused the death of wildfires, bush fires and an increase in the number of admissions to the hospital.

Several species of wildlife have also suffered, with reports of mbadive deaths of wild horses, native bats and fish in drought-affected areas.

The new record exceeds the conditions recorded in 2013, previously considered the worst heat wave in the country.

How bad is it?

Much of the state of New South Wales was hit hard by the extreme heat that lasted two weeks, with temperatures also rising in parts of Queens, South Australia, Victoria and of the Northern Territory.

How were the records broken?

"We found that heat waves affected large areas of the country for most of the month," said climatologist Andrew Watkins.

The records were beaten for the duration and individual daily extremes, he said. Precipitation was also below average in most areas.

Australia has more and more suffered from warmer summer temperatures. Last year, Sydney had its hottest day since 1939, with a maximum temperature of 47.3 ° C.

"The warming trend that has seen temperatures in Australia increase by more than one degree over the last 100 years has also contributed to unusually warm conditions," said Dr. Watkins.

How is climate change affecting Australia?

The authorities confirmed that 2018 and 2017 were respectively the third and fourth warmest years recorded by Australia.

The Bureau's report on the state of the climate for 2018 indicated that climate change has led to an increase in extreme heat events.

Although global temperatures are limited to the Paris Agreement's limit of a 2 ° C increase from pre-industrial levels, scientists believe that the country faces a dangerous new normality.

Some parts of eastern Australia suffered the worst drought in recent history last year, as thousands of Australians fled their homes when bushfires swept through Queensland in November.