The Australia Bureau of Meteorology added two colours to the top of the scale on their heat map, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. (Australia Bureau of Meteorology)Related Stories
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Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology added two more colours to the scale on its heat map to take account of unprecedented temperatures forecast for next week — a rise that is being blamed on global warming.
A bright shade of purple and pink have been chosen to represent the temperatures, which early Tuesday were predicted to climb to between 52 and 54 C in central Australia in the upcoming week. Meteorologists, however, subsequently lowered the forecast maximum to approximately 50 C.
David Jones, the head of the bureau’s climate monitoring, said that the additions to the scale demonstrate the real potential of record-breaking weather
“The scale has just been increased today, and I would anticipate it is because the forecast, coming from the bureau’s model, is showing temperatures in excess of 50 degrees,” Jones told local newspapers.
Global warming
The bureau has cited global warming as a cause of the recent temperature increases over the last four months.
A study done by the bureau said that the average Australian temperature is expected to rise by one to five degrees C by 2070.
Monday, was the hottest day on record for the entire country in which the temperature peaked at an average of 40.33 C.
According to the bureau, the current heat record is held by Oodnadatta, South Australia, which recorded a tremendous 50.7 C, on Jan. 2, 1960.
Wildfires, common during the summer months, have broken out across the country due to the combination of high temperatures and dry, windy conditions.
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