While we get cold, Australia has record fires and heat - Tucson News Now

While we get cold, Australia has record fires and heat

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By Aaron Pickering - bio | email

Since the end of December 2012, hundreds of bushfires have raged throughout Australia, fueled by a record-breaking heatwave. Some of the most damaging fires struck Tasmania, a large island off the coast of Victoria. Blazes that raced through the town of Dunalley on January 4 destroyed more than 100 homes.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response.

NASA's Terra satellite captured this image showing numerous fires across the island on January 6, 2013. Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected the unusually warm surface temperatures associated with fires.

Hundreds of uncontrolled fires also burned throughout New South Wales and Victoria, the two most populous Australian states. Three of the most intense were the Deans Gap fire, the Yarrabin fire, and the Cobbler Road fire. On January 9, 2012, the NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of the three fires.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response.

Extreme heat and strong winds have fueled the spate of fires. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the national average temperature on January 7 104.6°Fahrenheit, breaking a record set in 1972. Temperatures were so extreme that Australian meteorologists were forced to add additional color bands to their forecasting maps.