Australia just had hottest day in recorded history

104º F/40.9º C average across country

The climate crisis in Australia hit a new extreme today, and "the heat will only intensify" tomorrow.

Reports the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia [@BOM_au] via Twitter:

Preliminary results suggest that the 17th December was Australia's hottest day on record at 40.9 ºC, with the average maximum across the country as a whole, exceeding the previous record of 40.3 ºC on the 7th January 2013.