While it's hard to imagine bright blue, sunny skies and the sweltering heat of summer, as temperatures drop here, they're skyrocketing in Australia. During high school, I had a friend Adrienne, who is Australian, and after graduation, she moved back home.
I was catching up with her on Facebook the other day, and I noticed that she had written several statuses about how hot it was. I decided to take a look, and it turns out that many parts of Australia are currently battling record-breaking heat.
Even though summer hasn't yet reached its peak in the land down under, they've already experienced several days with scorching temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
In fact, last week, the province of Victoria recorded its hottest-ever November day, with temperatures reaching 45.8 degrees Celsius, or more than 114 degrees Fahrenheit.
Australians have been advised to watch out for the signs of heat-related illness, and to stay indoors with an air conditioner running whenever possible. Because of its position on the globe, Australia has fallen prey to a lot of bad heat waves in recent years, with one last year claiming 96 lives.
The extreme temperatures have also raised the risk for wildfires across the continent, and those who work outdoors were advised to stay indoors because a fire might start up while they are working in this dry heat.
I hope my friend Adrienne has a good quality air conditioner in her apartment so that she can stay cool during the extreme heat this time of year. Temperatures will likely return to normal soon, but this will still be a very hot season for all of the Aussies.
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