Australia Set To Be The Hottest Place On The Planet This Week

Forget your fears about La Niña ruining your summer vibe because a heatwave is about to hit Australia hard.

In fact, the weather could be so warm in some parts of the country that it could be the hottest place on the planet.

An 'exceptionally' hot air mass is set to descend on Australia that could see temperatures rise into the 30s, 40s and even crack the 50 mark in one region.

Weatherzone said the hottest temperature ever recorded Down Under was 49.9ºC and that was back in 2019 in South Australia's Nullarbor.

The hot air mass, combined with a lack of cloud cover, is forecast to drive up the mercury for most Australians to the point of 'not even a Kmart fan will help me'.

While temperatures that high can be dangerous, many Aussies have been languishing over the thought of another lame summer because of a second La Niña event.

Why can't Australia just have a happy medium, huh?

The hottest region in Australia during this heatwave is expected to be in the the Pilbara, Kimberley and North Interior districts of Western Australia.

Alice Springs, in the centre of Australia, is forecast to be sweltering through 41ºC every day between now (December 15) and Saturday (December 18).

Weatherzone states: "The hot air mass will cause Severe to Extreme heatwave conditions across a large area of central and northern Australia this week.

"Further north [of Alice Springs], Rabbit Flat in the Tanami Desert could hit 44 to 45ºC during the five days from Tuesday to Saturday.

"But Alice Springs and Rabbit flat both lie several hundred metres above sea level, sitting at elevations of 546 metres and 340 metres respectively. This height will help limit the heating this week, given the air cools by about 1ºC for every 100 metres of elevation in the lower atmosphere.

"However, once the hot air spreads to low-lying regions in northwestern Australia later this week, temperatures could approach 50ºC.

"While 50ºC is a chance in the north of WA this weekend, it's unlikely that this type of heat will occur at one of the state's official weather stations in the region.

"Port Hedland may be too close to the coast for 50ºC and is currently forecast to reach 47ºC on Sunday. However, it could exceed this forecast if the sea breeze is delayed enough and may challenge the site's December record of 47.9ºC from 1954.

Sydney is expected to hit 30ºC on Saturday and Melburnians will be sweating through 33ºC.

It will be Friday that will see the hottest temperatures in Adelaide, which is expected to see 37ºC on the gauge, while Brisbane will have two 31ºC days today and tomorrow.

Featured Image Credit: Weatherzone

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie