The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track global extreme or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😜
Main Topic: Checking in on Australian Heat
Dear Diary. Guilty as charged. Since I have been concentrating on U.S. record chill and other climate change news items, I have neglected to at least focus for one day on record Australian that occurred early last week during the middle of their summer.
As of January 29th, the heat dome responsible for record Australian hear remained intact:
Thankfully it has collapsed as of this Sunday:
Here is a BBC article describing how this heatwave affected events across Australia last week:
Heatwave warnings across Australia as millions celebrate national day
Heatwave warnings across Australia as millions celebrate national day
1/24/2026
Koh Ewe
Australian authorities have issued heatwave warnings for most of the country as millions mark the national holiday, Australia Day.
Temperatures are expected to peak on Tuesday, reaching the “high forties” Celsius in the southern states of Victoria and South Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
On Sunday, South Australia recorded temperatures as high as 48.5C, the bureau reported. Fire danger warnings are in place across the country.
Some Australia Day events on Monday were cancelled out of safety concerns.
In Adelaide, a parade and light show were cancelled because of the extreme heat forecast.
“While this is deeply disappointing for the community, performers and partners, community safety and wellbeing must come first,” organisers said.
Australia Day – 26 January – is the anniversary of the 1788 landing of Britain’s First Fleet, which began the era of colonisation.
But to many people, especially Indigenous Australians, the occasion is a reminder of their cultural destruction under European settlers – referring to the occasion as “Invasion Day”.
Across the country on Monday, huge crowds gathered for rallies in support of Indigenous Australians.
Crowds gather in Melbourne in support of Indigenous rights
Aside from Victoria and South Australia, heatwave warnings have also been issued in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Many of these warnings will remain in place until Wednesday.
“We haven’t seen heatwave conditions like this in Victoria for almost 20 years,” Tim Wiebusch, Victoria’s emergency management commissioner, told ABC.
“It was 2009 ahead of the bushfires where we saw those prevailing conditions and so we are indicating to all Victorians that this is a very serious set of weather conditions.”
On Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology warned of “extreme fire dangers” across parts of South Australia and much of south-western Victoria “due to very hot and dry weather combined with moderate to gusty winds”.
Firefighters in Victoria are working to combat several fires across the state, which have prompted evacuations and threatened properties.
The heat has also affected the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Tennis player Jannik Sinner was seen suffering from cramps on the court on Saturday, before play was temporarily suspended in the rising heat. Nearly 80,000 fans were warned to take care under the scorching sun.
Meanwhile, parts of Western Australia were pummelled by Tropical Cyclone Luana over the weekend. The storm damaged homes and a popular beach resort before weakening as it moved inland.
The meteorological bureau has advised people to find places to keep cool, like their homes, libraries, community centres or shopping centres. It also told people to close their windows and draw the curtains to keep heat out of their homes.
Here are some “ETs” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is More Climate News from Sunday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)