Trying to beat the heat

Jetty jumpers find the fastest way to to get relief at Henley Beach, west of Adelaide, Australia, as temperatures rose above 42 deg C.

If temperatures do not fall below 40 deg C today, the hot spell in Adelaide will officially become a heatwave. That is defined by the country's Bureau of Meteorology as three consecutive days with a temperature at or above 40 deg C, or five consecutive days where the maximum temperature is at or higher than 35 deg C.

Commuters riding the subway have been informed that trains will be travelling more slowly than normal as some parts of the tracks might be affected by the heat.

The bureau has no doubt about what is behind these unusually high temperatures: climate change. This is the first time Adelaide has experienced such a heatwave at this time of the year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 18, 2015, with the headline Trying to beat the heat. Subscribe