A relentless heatwave is gripping remote regions of Western Australia's Pilbara and Gascoyne, with temperatures soaring into the high 40s and posing serious risks to travellers and residents. Gascoyne Junction, 940 kilometers north of Perth, nearly reached a national record, experiencing three consecutive days above 49 degrees Celsius. Local authorities and experts warn of the extreme heat's dangers, urging people to take precautions and be aware of the potential for heatstroke.
Persistent heatwave conditions are continuing to scorch remote parts of Western Australia's Pilbara and Gascoyne . On Tuesday, Gascoyne Junction, 940 kilometers north of Perth, almost equalled a national record of three consecutive days above 49 degrees Celsius. Long-time residents are warning travelers passing through the area to be aware of the risks after a Queensland tourist died near Mount Augustus last weekend.
Residents in Western Australia's remote north west are expecting little relief from sweltering conditions with temperatures in the high 40s stretching into the weekend. While hot weather is not unusual in January, the persistently high temperatures and lack of any cooler overnight change are beginning to test even long-time locals used to the mercury topping 40 degrees Celsius. This week Gascoyne Junction, 940 kilometers north of Perth, came close to equaling a 65-year national record of three consecutive days above 49C. Upper Gascoyne Shire president Jim Caunt said locals were pinning their hopes on decent rainfall to take the heat out of the atmosphere. 'If it doesn't rain we'll probably go in and out of this weather until the end of summer,' Cr Caunt said. Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Bob Tarr said it was unusual for such extreme temperatures to persist in areas like Gascoyne Junction for so long without reprieve. 'The 49s, you probably get a few of those a lot of summers and certainly these days you get more than there used to be,' he said. Temperatures above 50C have been recorded just seven times in Australian history. But Mr Tarr said it was unlikely those temperatures would be reached during the current heatwave warning period, which is in place until Saturday. 'I'd say it's not impossible but probably unlikely; we certainly do have a lot of heat around the place,' he said. Don't take heatwaves lightly. Just like cyclones, flooding, bushfires and severe storms, heatwaves are hazards and they can kill you. David Hammarquist, who manages Mount Augustus Station and Tourist Park, said anyone traveling through the region needed to know the risks. 'It's one of the harshest environments in Western Australia, if not Australia. It's equal to the Great Sandy Desert,' he said. 'If you break down in between one place or another, especially this time of the year, there aren't too many people traveling.' In Newman, 700km to the north east, residents are on high alert for intense storms that often follow heatwaves. 'Probably about three times in the last three weeks there's been some pretty ferocious storms,' mine worker Mark Brenmuhl said. 'I've driven to and from work and there's been trees down or you can see where the winds have blown through and knocked fences down.' Mr Brenmuhl said he was fortunate most of his work could be done inside a truck, but some working in the town's open-pit iron-ore mine had to face the heat directly. 'When you do get any sort of heat stroke … it is going to affect you the next day, you're going to feel absolutely rough,' he said. 'And knowing you've got to do the whole thing again and again and again, it's going to play on your mind.
HEATWAVE WESTERN AUSTRALIA PILBARA GASCOYNE EXTREME TEMPERATURES HEALTH WARNINGS TRAVEL ADVISORY
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