The Arizona sentinel., 1896-07-11

Remarkable Heat Rsesrd In Aus


Some remarkable facts in regards
to the heat record of January last in,
Ars ralia have recently been publish
ed in the New YoEk Tribune:
An accurate record Of Farenheit
reading observed in the shade On a
veranda overlooking the Darling River,
in South Wales, IN January last, is as
follows: On New Years Day ,1I2 de-,
grees; on January 2. 1O7; thence
rising to l23 on January Z; falling to
III on the 10th, only rise to 124 on,
the llth and then with scme fuc-
tuatiors IS Iowa IS l1s, bat not
lower, scoring 12S on the 10Th and
l6th, and 429 on the. 18th. :. .Suefs
temperatures in the shade seem in.
credible. But the record is true.
From Janury 1 to January 19 the
range of heat was from 107-the low7
est-tO 129 degrees in the shade.
What it was IN the sun one hesitates
to think. At Adelaide en- January
23 the mercury registered in the 81 .
the appalling height OF 172 degrees,
Nor was there any appreciable relief
from the heat at night. For the nrst
three weeks OF January at no time IN
the twenty-four hours did the mercury
fall below 100, and in many places
1O5 was the lowest point recorded.a .4
This "spell of weather" was excep-
tional, no doubt. Just what caused
it Is one of 'the mysteries Of nature
thus far inscrutable to o.mortal ken.
Theories are plentiful as blackberrics;'
but none OF them convincing. Per-
haps. the most significant, scientific
fact connected with the case is that
in the Southern Hemisphere summer
occurs when earth is nearest to, and
winter when it is fuTthest from, the
sun; exactly the reverse Of the con-
ditions prevailing il the Northern
Hemisphere. We may naturally ex-
pect, therefore, to find the extremes
Of the heat and cold more marked
there then here, and such is indeed
the case. Let us compare, for
example, Grafton, in New South
Wales, ne:r the coast, with New Or
leans. They are about 'cqwidistssks
from the equator, Grafton being ia
26 degrees 43 minutes south and New
Orleans in 80 degrees north latitude.
The mean temperature of the former
is little cooler than that OF the
latter-65.5 degrees and 6S.S degrees
respectively. The mean summer tens
perature of Grafton is tho cooIer-77.f
degrees against 50 degrees and the
mean winter warmer-5S. l against 55.S
degrees. From these figures cne
would say Grafton has Il more tenls
perate climate than New Dreams.
Bnt the record of extremes makes q
different, showing; for the highest
reading of the thermometer at Grafton
is ll8 in the shade, while at New
Orleans it is only SO degrees, and the
lowest at Grafton is 29.9 degrees
against 81 degrees 81 New Crlerns.
The conclusion IS, therefore. that
while on the average the Southerrs
Hemisphere is fully temperate as the
Northern, and perhaps even more SO,
it is subject occasionally to far greater
extremes OF heat and cold. ~
But whatever the cause cf this bet
wave of last January, the results OF II
are scarcely to be described. People
died by thousands. Birds dropped
dead from the trees. Rabbits and
other animals, though hidden in the
shadiest recesses OF the forests, per-
ished wholesale. Those that survived
were dazel and stupelied, so that the
widest Ind shyest could be anywhere
approached and picked up. Even
insect lie succumbed, and perhaps
the most impressive record of all was
that furnished from a. place called
.Nyngan, TO the effect that "mosquit--
oes are being killed by the heat"
And all this, it must be remembered,
was in a so called temperate zone, IN
latitude 30degrees to 80 degeees south,
corresponding in situation with South
Carolina and Georgia! Surely, III
the lace of such a record, with the
mercury in the nineties we may keep
cool, AMI take courage.