Australia Experiences Hottest Day on Record: Meteorologists

Australia reached its hottest nationwide average temperature ever recorded Tuesday at 105.6 degrees, according to its Bureau of Meteorology. The agency said Tuesday’s average temperature beat out the previous record from Jan. 7, 2013, which topped off at 105.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The BBC reports several cities and towns across the continent soared above 113 degrees on Tuesday, but taking the average maximum temperatures across a country is the most accurate way to measure a heat wave. Meteorologists have been attributing a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, an event in which sea surface temperatures are warmer in the western half of the ocean and cooler in the east, as the source of the heat. As temperatures rise, the country is also battling an unprecedented amount of wildfires.