'Hottest ever' January for Shepparton

If you thought this month was one of the hottest Januaries in recent memory, you would be right.

Record after record tumbled as Shepparton sweltered through unusually high temperatures.

‘‘We’ve seen extremely warm temperatures across large parts of the country in January and the region around Shepparton was no exception,’’ Bureau of Meteorology climatologist David Martin said.

‘‘The mean temperatures at both our Shepparton airport site and our main site in Tatura are tracking to be the warmest on record for January.’

The mean maximum temperature at Shepparton aerodrome observation station was tracking more than 4°C hotter than the 22-year average for January, up to 36.6°C from the long-term average of 31.8°C.

The previous hottest January average was 34.4°C, recorded in 1999.

The maximum temperature record for January was broken not once, but twice, first on Friday, January 4, when the mercury hit 44.6°C and again on Friday when it climbed to 46.2°.

The previous high of 44.3°C was recorded on January 31, 2009.

Friday also had an overnight minimum of 27.8°C, 2.5°C hotter than the maximum experienced the following Sunday.

January was also unusually dry, with rainfall to date just 5.6 mm, well down on the 28.2 mm average and 100.8 mm maximum of 1999.

Most of this month’s rain — 4 mm — fell in yesterday’s morning storm.

Without the sudden downfall, the month would have not only been the hottest on record but the also the driest.

Story from The Shepparton News by Myles Peterson  - “Hottest ever”.

Crop failure and bankruptcy threaten farmers as drought grips Europe

Farmers across northern and central Europe are facing crop failure and bankruptcy as one of the most intense regional droughts in recent memory strengthens its grip.

A blighted wheat field in Täby, central Sweden -
however, the energy-rich Tour de France goes on.

States of emergency have been declared in Latvia and Lithuania, while the sun continues to bake Swedish fields that have received only 12% of their normal rainfall.

The abnormally hot temperatures – which have topped 30C in the Arctic Circle – are in line with climate change trends, according to the World Meteorological Organization. And as about 50 wildfires rage across Sweden, no respite from the heatwave is yet in sight.

Lennart Nilsson, a 55-year-old cattle farmer from Falkenberg near Malmo and co-chair of the Swedish Farmers Association, said it was the worst drought he had experienced.

Read the story by Arthur Nelsen from The Guardian - “Crop failure and bankruptcy threaten farmers as drought grips Europe.”

(SBS commentators for the present Tour de France have several times mentioned the wonderful cycling weather being experienced so far in the three-week race around France, seemingly oblivious to the fact that what they are “enjoying” is the worst drought many Europeans can remember - Robert McLean)

Braidwood farmers struggle with drought as dams dry up

Farmers in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands are in the middle of one of the driest summers in recent memory, and are facing tough choices about how to deal with bone-dry dams.

Six dams on Mark Horan's property have dried up.

Water has been scarce on Mark Horan's Braidwood farm since winter, and a recent spate of hot weather has left him running on empty.

Most of the dams on Mr Horan's property are dry, and grass for cattle feed is increasingly sparse.

Read the ABC News story by Jordan Hayne - “Braidwood farmers struggle with drought as dams dry up.”