Record cold in North America, Record Heat Down Under

While Canadians and Americans dealt with record cold and snowfall amounts this week, Australia is baking under a large “heat dome” sitting over top of the country. The mercury has sored over various regions prompting fire danger warnings nation-wide.

So far, people in the southern part of Australia have dealt with eight consecutive days of temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and the heat is not planning to go anywhere for a few more days yet. On Tuesday, various cities and towns in Victoria climbed to 48.9C, Renmark, South Australia reached 49.6C, and Fowlers Gap, New South Wales hit 49.1C. Further inland, forecasters believe they’ll reach 50C before the temperatures start to drop slightly.

According to the Weather Network, a cold front is expected to move over the region starting Saturday night and pushing the heat dome away, offering relief to millions of Australians.