Beam me to Planet Gore !
Radical environmentalist should be tried for crimes against humanity before they get us all killed.
As the Argus newspaper reported at the time, the temperature on February 6, 1851, soared to 47.2C, helping to superheat the fires that then roared across 10 times more land than was burned last week.
AND despite claims that global warming is now heating this land like never before, Victoria's highest recorded temperature is still the 50.7C measured in Mildura 103 years ago. South Australia's is also 50.7C, recorded 49 years ago. NSW's is the 50C of 70 years ago. Queensland's is the 49.5C of 37 years ago. Not much recent warming obvious there.
It is important that the public be reminded of these heat waves in the past - they are a normal part of life in Australia.
A greenie in the comments section said that there was a report of 52C in Mildura this week - so the previous record is broken. He also maintained that none of those early figures are usable, because they were not taken with modern instruments.
But that is a general problem in Australia - we have no records at all from any proper length of historical time. The 1850s is nothing - it is yesterday in terms of mapping climate trends.