Summer Down Under

Continuing my recent theme on weather, while those of us in the north are bundling up against the cold these days, Australia is experiencing a historic summer heat wave. Many records have been broken as temperatures climbed as high as 43 degrees C (109.4F) in Sydney, and the city of Eucla, in Western Australia, recorded a temperature of 48.3 C (119F) on January 3. The extreme conditions have triggered dust storms and raging wildfires, burning more than 750,000 acres, and destroying hundreds of homes. Collected here are images of Australia's January heat wave, and people both coping with it and enjoying it.

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