de@cs.rochester.edu (Dave Esan) (07/18/90)
From: moscom!de@cs.rochester.edu (Dave Esan) In article <1990Jul12.025653.18992@cbnews.att.com> bxr307@csc.anu.oz writes: >more readily, and when operating as we do in temperatures up to 60 degrees >Celsius (as it can sometimes reach in high summer in the middle of the >continent) Interesting article. But 60 degrees C? That translates to 140 degrees F (for those of us in the USA), which exceeds the stated record of 136 degrees F (or 57.8 degrees C) set on 13 September 1922 in Aziza, Tripolitania. Sorry to nitpick. -- ______________________________________________________________________________ --> David Esan {rutgers, ames, harvard}!rochester!moscom!de ______________________________________________________________________________
bxr307@csc.anu.oz (07/24/90)
From: bxr307@csc.anu.oz In article <1990Jul18.040943.14524@cbnews.att.com>, moscom!de@cs.rochester.edu (Dave Esan) writes: > > > From: moscom!de@cs.rochester.edu (Dave Esan) > > In article <1990Jul12.025653.18992@cbnews.att.com> bxr307@csc.anu.oz writes: >>more readily, and when operating as we do in temperatures up to 60 degrees >>Celsius (as it can sometimes reach in high summer in the middle of the >>continent) > > Interesting article. But 60 degrees C? That translates to 140 degrees F > (for those of us in the USA), which exceeds the stated record of 136 degrees > F (or 57.8 degrees C) set on 13 September 1922 in Aziza, Tripolitania. > > Sorry to nitpick. Areas of central Australia quite regularly experience temperatures that high. Particularly hot places are the Simpson Desert, the Kimberley Mountain Range, The Great Sandy Desert, the Great Victoria Desert and the Gibson Desert (which most of the centre of the continent). The town of Marble Bar in the state of Western Australia regularly records temperatures in the high fifties, in the shade (so add about another 10 degrees on top for out in the sun). Other towns in, or near the arid centre of Australia regularly report similar temperatures. I have been on an exercise in January which was held near the town of Port Agusta, on the south coast of Australia and it reached 56 degrees in the shade, on two consecutive days, simply because the weather pattern was blowing hot air off the centre of the continent. The locals said that is happens every summer. It was so hot in fact, that you had to wear gloves to pick up your weapon or to handle tools, otherwise you'd burn your hands. As you can well imagine not too much gets done in such high temperatures (except by the Army who don't recognise temperature as an over-riding consideration in operations. Instead they just send up more water and take more rest breaks). In the Kimberley's last January it was so hot that a group of Aborigines died when their vehicle broke down and they didn't have enough water. The Temperature recorded at the outstation which they had left the day before was recorded at 62 degrees C which now stands as our highest recorded temperature. Brian Ross