by Chris
‘Red Lights Flashing’: Australia Smashes Heat Record Just a Day After Previous Record Hit
Calls for immediate and ambitious action to tackle the climate emergency piled up Thursday in response to preliminary analysis from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology that Wednesday smashed the nation’s temperature record by a full 1°C just one day after the previous all-time record.
The first record was set Tuesday, when Australia’s national average maximum temperature reached 40.9°C (105.6°F), eliciting alarm from climate and fire safety experts. Wednesday, the average rose to 41.9°C (107.4°F), sparking a fresh wave of warnings and demands for bold efforts to battle the planetary crisis.
For the second day in a row, Australia has broken its hottest day in recorded history.
The nationwide average temperature on December 18 was 41.9°C (107.4°F) — across an area the size of the U.S. — that’s unthinkable.
We are in a climate emergency. https://t.co/51A7s2Inps
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) December 19, 2019 “On Wednesday, Australia’s heatwave reached incredible proportions,” tweeted Kees van der Leun, a director at the American consultancy firm Navigant who works with energy sector clients in Europe and the Middle East.
“I think this is the single loudest alarm bell I’ve ever heard on global heating,” added van der Leun. “Red lights flashing all over. Politicians not taking this as a call for climate action will probably never act at all.”
The average max temperature, for crying out loud! 107.4!
So my question becomes, exactly what would have to happen for people to actually wake up and say “Hey, this whole growth thingy isn’t working in our favor anymore?”
What event might cause that? If half a country dies from heat prostration one day? If the world’s crops failed one year almost entirely?
Sadly, I think it would have to be the inability to one-click a purchase from Amazon while binging on Netflix.