SIYUAN YANG
Australian Bureau of Meteorology ENSO Tracker showed the temperature of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is twice its normal levels, setting Queensland for a hot summer.
Bureau of Meteorology Senior Hydrologist Doctor Paul Feikema said the climate outlook for Australia will potentially see an extremely warm and dry summer for Queenslanders.
“In terms of temperature, warmer than average is expected for the rest of this year across most of Australia,” Dr Feikema said in a Bureau outlook video.
“Nights could also be warmer than usual, particularly in southeastern Australia.
“With warmer days and nights forecasted until the end of this year, [it looks] like 2014 will be one of the top ten warmest years for Australia since records began.”
High temperatures and dry conditions could increase the chance of bushfire’s this summer in Queensland.
The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC’s outlook for 2014-15 stated more than 75 percent of Queensland is now declared drought land due to the lack of rainfall during wet seasons.
Updated fire warnings for Queensland can be found at https://ruralfire.qld.gov.au/Fire_Safety_and_You/.