2009 southeastern Australia heat wave |
|
Approximate affected area shown in
red |
|
Dates |
25th of January - 9th of February, 2009
(16 days)
|
Areas affected |
South Australia, Victoria, Southern New South Wales, Northern Tasmania, ACT |
Highest daily maximum |
Hopetoun, Victoria
|
Reported casualties |
374 deaths
2,000+ treated for heat-related effects
|
The
2009 southeastern Australia heat wave was a
heat wave that commenced in late January
and led to record-breaking prolonged high temperatures in the
region. The heat wave is considered one of, if not the most,
extreme in the region's history. During the heat wave, 50 separate
locations set various records for consecutive, highest daytime and
overnight temperatures.
The highest temperature recorded during the
heat wave was in Hopetoun, Victoria, a record for the state. Many locations through
the region recorded all-time high temperatures including capital
cities Adelaide, which
reached its third-highest temperature, , and Melbourne, which recorded its highest ever temperature on
record, . Both cities broke records for the most
consecutive days over , while Mildura, Victoria recorded an all time record 12 consecutive days
over .
The
exceptional heat wave was caused by a slow moving high-pressure system that settled over
the Tasman
Sea, with a combination of an intense tropical low located off the North West Australian coast and a
monsoon trough over Northern Australia, which produced ideal
conditions for hot tropical air to be directed down over
Southeastern Australia. The heat began in South Australia on
25 January but became more widespread over southeast Australia by
27 January. A weak
cool change moved
over the southern coastal areas bringing some relief on January 30,
including Melbourne, where the change arrived that evening,
dropping temperatures to an average of . Higher temperatures
returned on the following weekend with Melbourne recording its
hottest day since records began in 1855, , also the hottest
temperature ever recorded in an Australian capital city.
The heat wave generated extreme fire conditions during the peak of
the
2008-09
Australian bushfire season, causing many
bushfires in the affected region, contributing to
the extreme bushfire conditions on February 7, also known as the
Black Saturday bushfires,
which claimed 173 lives in Victoria.
10 months after this heat wave,
a second struck
the same region in November 2009.
Records and statistics
During the
heat wave, several records were broken; Tasmania recorded its
highest ever temperature; in Scamander, and the long standing
Tasmanian record of (recorded in Hobart on 4
January 1976) was broken five times within
two days at Flinders Island, Fingal (twice), St Helens and
Scamander,, while Hopetoun in Victoria recorded the state's highest temperature and the
highest temperature of the heat wave, with a reading of
.
Adelaide, South Australia
- 13 Consecutive days over
- 6 Consecutive days over
- 3 Consecutive days over
Melbourne, Victoria
- Average daily maximum January 27 - February 7: - ( above normal
average)
- 12 Consecutive days over
- 5 Consecutive days over
- 3 Consecutive days over
Mildura, Victoria
- 12 Consecutive days over
- 5 Consecutive days over
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
- 14 Consecutive days over
- 13 Consecutive days over
- 4 Consecutive days over
Temperatures (Daily Maximum)
January 2009
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
February
- 7th – (record high, 2.1 °C higher than
previous record)
January 2009
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th –
- 6th –
January 2009
- 26th –
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th –
- 6th –
- 7th – - 12th consecutive day over 40°C
- 8th -
January 2009
- 26th –
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th –
- 6th –
- 7th –
January 2009
- 26th –
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th –
- 6th –
- 7th -
January 2009
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th – - Third hottest day recorded in Melbourne.
- 31st -
February
- 1st -
- 2nd -
- 3rd -
- 4th -
- 5th –
- 6th –
- 7th - - Hottest day recorded in Melbourne since records began
in 1855. 0.8 °C hotter than previous record (Friday, 13 January
1939).
Adelaide, South Australia
January 2009
- 26th –
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th -
- 5th -
- 6th –
- 7th -
A record high minimum temperature was recorded at around midnight
on 29 January, when the temperature dropped to only at the
Bureau of Meteorology weather station
in
Kent Town, near the
Adelaide city centre. Temperatures recorded in other parts of the
city and other towns throughout South Australia were even
higher.
Woomera, South Australia
January 2009
- 25th -
- 26th -
- 27th -
- 28th -
- 29th -
- 30th -
- 31st -
February
- 1st -
- 2nd -
- 3rd -
- 4th –
- 5th –
- 6th –
January 2009
- 26th -
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th -
- 6th -
- 7th - - Hottest day recorded in Wagga Wagga since records began
in 1941.
- 8th -
On 31 January 2009 Wagga Wagga broke the all-time January record
for the most days above with six days recorded (the record
previously being five days, which was set in 1952 and equalled in
1979 and 2001). The January record set in 1979 was equalled for
number of days above or more which is 19 days.
Wagga Wagga broke the all-time record and the February record for
the highest recorded maximum on 7 February 2009, 2:50pm
AEDT the city recorded with the previous
February record being set on 1 February 1968 and the all time
previously being set on 23 January 2001.
On 8 February 2009 the record for the consecutive days over was to
be broken with thirteen consecutive days recorded (the previous
record being six days, which was set in 1946 and equalled in 1979,
1980 and 2004). Wagga Wagga also recorded fourteen consecutive days
of over .
January 2009
- 26th –
- 27th –
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th -
- 6th -
- 7th - - Hottest day recorded in Albury–Wodonga since records
began in 1973.
- 8th -
January 2009
February
- 7th - (record high, 2.1 °C higher than
previous record)
January 2009
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th –
- 31st –
February
- 1st –
- 2nd –
- 3rd –
- 4th –
- 5th –
- 6th –
- 7th –
- 8th –
January 2009
- 28th –
- 29th –
- 30th – - Hottest day recorded in Launceston since records began
in 1980.
- 31st –
Accompanying bushfires
After a slow start to the
2008-09 Australian bushfire
season, the high temperatures and wind precipitated several
bushfires across Victoria and South
Australia. The conditions were very similar to the heat wave
experienced in early January 1939, which killed 438 people and
precipitated the
Black
Friday bushfires of 1939.
Fires
were also started in the Australian Alps by lightning strikes from dry thunderstorms in north-east Victoria and
south-east New South Wales.
The tail end of the heat wave also precipitated the Black Saturday
bushfires, in which 173 people died, 414 injured and 2,029 houses
destroyed at various locations across the state. Several locations
around the state recorded their highest temperatures since records
began in 1859 and winds gusted up to 110 km/h.
Comparison to normal climate for the area
Many areas in central South Australia, northern Victoria and inland
New South Wales regularly experience temperatures over for one, two
or three consecutive days, sometimes more, during the summer
months. During the heat wave, however, many of these regions
experienced temperatures over for twice as long or more, on
average, than is normal for that time of year. Coastal regions and
the ACT experienced slightly lower temperatures; however, these
were still above average and lasted for a prolonged period.
While coastal regions may have experienced shorter periods of heat
wave, for the time that they did experience temperatures over ,
they mostly reached the top 3, top 5 or top 10 all-time temperature
records for a number of days. An excellent example of this is
Melbourne, which had only 3 consecutive days over , yet when
combined with the record set on the 7 February, now has recorded
three of its five (being 1st, 3rd and 5th) all-time record high
temperatures.
The heat wave was perhaps most extreme in northern and eastern
Tasmania, where 7 of the 8 highest temperatures ever recorded in
Tasmania occurred during the heat wave.
A chart of the variation of maximum and minimum daily temperatures,
through the year, for Melbourne was prepared from observations
between May 1855 and August 2006. For early February, this shows a
mean daily maximum temperature of with the 75th percentile
temperature being about .
Effects
Energy
Localised power outages occurred throughout both cities during the
week at varying times for various lengths. It is estimated that
over 500,000 residents in Melbourne were without power for the
evening of 30 January 2009.
The outtage affected much of central
Melbourne with train and tram services cancelled, the evacuation of
Crown
Casino, traffic light failures, people being rescued from
lifts and patrons of the Victorian Arts Centre evacuated and shows
cancelled. The outage occurred only an hour after the
National
Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) issued a
statement saying
load shedding was
ending and power had been restored.
Blackouts also occurred in the city's west, caused by the three-day
heat wave.
It is believed an explosion at South Morang contributed to the power problems along three
transmission lines supplying Victoria's west and Victorian power
supplier SP AusNet shed 1,000
megawatts. On the 30th, Energy Minister
Peter Batchelor announced consumers who lose
power for more than 20 hours would be eligible for
compensation.
Areas that didn't experience blackouts still had issues with
abnormally low
voltage (probably due to
increased air-conditioner usage).
As of February 1, the heat wave is estimated to have cost the
Victorian economy $100m during the week.
Transportation
Over the course of the week, thousands of train and tram services
were cancelled in both cities, with more than 1,300 individual
train services cancelled in metropolitan Melbourne alone. The
cancellations were due to buckling rail lines, air conditioner
failures and power outages. On the 30th, all public transport in
the city was free as the government admitted responsibility for
failing to provide adequate infrastructure elements to cope with
the heat, as well as long-standing issues with underfunding. On the
30th, 730 (40%) of rail services were cancelled, the worst day of
operation since Connex took control in 2004.
2009 Australian Open
Several outdoor matches during the
2009 Australian Open on the 29th and
the 30th were cancelled due to the heat. A number of players,
including number 3 seed
Novak
Djokovic, cited the temperature as reason for withdrawing from
matches.
Serena Williams was quoted
as saying it was so hot on court she felt like she was having an
"
out-of-body experience".
After these retirements and an intensification in the heat, the
organisers responded by closing the roof and allowing players
longer breaks and icepacks.
Human health
There is dispute between sources as to how many people were
affected by the heat wave. Hundreds were treated for heat-related
illness and 6 fatalities were confirmed, and a number of "sudden
deaths" were suspected to be caused by the heat. Authorities worked
through each case to determine exactly how many fatalities were
directly attributable to the heat wave.
Commercial news sources vary widely at the number of fatalities,
some report only 2 deaths, while others speculate that the toll may
ultimately be higher. 57 deaths were suspected to have occurred in
South Australia and 33 in Victoria, however authorities preferred
to wait for coronial reports before confirming how many were
directly attributable to the heat wave.
The Victorian state coroner announced a tripling of dead bodies
being placed in the state mortuary during the heat wave, filling
the morgue to capacity. Hospitals and funeral homes were relied
upon to provide temporary storage of corpses, even before the
deaths associated with the
Black Saturday bushfires created
additional demand for mortuary space.
Throughout the heat wave, thousands of people, many of them
elderly, were confirmed to have been treated by
ambulance officers and placed in hospitals
for heat-related illnesses in Victoria and South Australia.
Ambulance Victoria reported a 70% increase in emergency calls
during the week. It is estimated that around 2,000 people across
Victoria and South Australia were treated for
heat stroke and other effects of the heat
wave.
According to a Monash University study of funeral notices, more
than 200 people died as a result of the heat wave. A 45% increase
in the death rate was noted during the time. A subsequent report by
Victoria's chief health officer, Dr John Carnie, put the final
figure at 374.
Fauna and flora
Baby birds,
possums and
bats were among the wildlife not coping in the extreme
heat.
The
RSPCA received five times the usual
number of admissions to its shelters in Melbourne, with 50 possums
admitted to the Burwood East shelter alone.
There were many reports of
Koalas wandering
into urban yards and houses to drink water offered by residents.
This behaviour is highly unusual as the animals do not normally
drink water and are naturally shy of people.
In Melbourne, a city with many non-native deciduous trees on nature
strips and in gardens, trees began shedding their leaves months in
advance of autumn because of hot, dry conditions and lack of
January rainfall. Water restrictions in Melbourne prevent much
vegetation from being watered and non-native plants did not cope
well during the heat wave.
See also
Other notable Australian heat waves:
References
External links & Further Reading