Australia was home to the 10 hottest places on Earth over the weekend, most around the city of Sydney, as ongoing bushfires cause massive damage to the country's lands, Discover magazine reports.
The hottest location was in the suburb of Penrith on Saturday, Jan. 4, which reached a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, or 48.9 degrees Centigrade, breaking records that have stood for 80 years.
"NB: daily *average* temperature," tweeted University of Western Australia Adjunct Professor Ray Wills.
"Penrith was hottest place on Earth today and Hottest ever day recorded in Greater Sydney," he added, noting the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia "recorded maximum temperature of 48.9C at 3 p.m. Previous record of 47.3C set in January 2018."
The organization tweeted Canberra "has reached 43.6C — a new hottest temperature record for any month. The previous Canberra records are 42.2C at Canberra Airport in 1968 and 42.8C at the now-closed Acton site in 1939."
The magazine notes the ongoing, intense fires across the country, combined with high winds and thunderstorms, have pushed up temperatures.
"There are a number of fires that are coming together – very strong, very large, intense fires that are creating some of these fire-generated thunderstorms," said Shane Fitzsimmons, Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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