A
state of emergency has been declared in New South Wales, Australia, amid fears
a record-breaking heatwave will exacerbate the state's bushfire crisis.
The
nation endured its hottest-ever day on Tuesday, but that record was smashed
again on Wednesday - which saw an average maximum of 41.9C (107.4F).
Tuesday's
40.9C had eclipsed the previous record of 40.3C, set in 2013.
Authorities
in New South Wales (NSW) are currently fighting about 100 fires, in a crisis
that has lasted months.
Premier
Gladys Berejiklian announced a seven-day state of emergency due to forecasts of
worsening conditions.
"The
biggest concern over the next few days is the unpredictability, with extreme
wind conditions [and] extremely hot temperatures," she told reporters on
Thursday.
Parts
of NSW, of which Sydney is the capital, hit temperatures in the early-40s on
Thursday. More intense heat was forecast for the rest of the week.
A
state of emergency gives fire authorities additional powers to cope with the
crisis. It is the second such declaration in NSW since last month.
Bushfires
have been raging in Australia for months, killing six people, destroying
hundreds of homes and burning millions of hectares of land.
The
crisis - worsened by tinder-dry conditions from a severe drought - has spurred
criticism of the nation's climate policies.
Australia
heated up this week as a mass of hot air swept east across the continent.
The
dominant climate driver behind the heat has been a positive Indian Ocean Dipole
(IOD) - an event where sea surface temperatures are warmer in the western half
of the ocean, cooler in the east.
The
difference between the two temperatures is currently the strongest in 60 years.
The
warmer waters cause higher-than-average rains in the western Indian Ocean
region, leading to flooding, and drier conditions across South East Asia and
Australia.
According
to the Bureau of Meteorology (Bom), Australia has warmed overall by slightly
more than 1C since 1910, with most of the heating occurring since 1950.
Officials
predict that 2019, on the temperatures recorded so far, will be among the four
warmest years on record.
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