As Australia heatwave hits new high, warning that bushfires will continue [1]
The Guardian - 1/12/13, Alison Rourke
As crews battle 'atrocious conditions' fire chiefs say that lives have been saved by better ways of predicting outbreaks
A pall of smoke over the coast of Queensland: 'Until we get some substantial rain, we will have a landscape susceptible to fire,' says one fire chief. Photograph: Glenys Simpson/AFP
Australia [2]'s heatwave set a new high of almost 50C as authorities warned that large uncontrolled bushfires would continue to threaten areas in the south-east of the country.
Meanwhile, in remote Moomba, a gas exploration and processing town in the outback of South Australia, the temperature hit 49.6C by mid-afternoon, making it the hottest of the two-week spell, and 48.6C in the town of Bourke, 500 miles north-west of Sydney.
To read the rest of this story, visit The Guardian. [3]
Similar Story: Roads Melt, Gas Evaporates In Australia's Unprecedented Heat Wave [4]