Baked in unprecedented bushfires, Australia declares seven-day state emergency

New South Wales, December 19: In Australia's New South Wales, authorities have declared a seven-day state of emergency as a record heatwave fanned unprecedented bushfires raging across the region.

 

 

The New South Wales, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state of emergency is due to catastrophic weather conditions. Authorities predicted more intense heat today and later in the week. 

Australia set a record for its hottest day ever for a second straight day with an average national temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 Fahrenheit), a full degree higher than the previous mark. As the heatwave continued Thursday saw the highest December temperature ever reached in Australia when the West Australian town of Eucla hit 49.8 degrees celsius (121.6 Fahrenheit). 

 

 

 

More than 70 fires are also raging across Queensland state to the north of New South Wales, including one at Peregian, near the coastal tourist hub of Noosa, that forced people to flee their homes on Wednesday. Bushfires are also burning in South Australia and Western Australia.

The fires have ravaged at least three million hectares (7.4 million acres) of land across Australia in recent months, with six people killed and more than 800 homes destroyed.