NSW weather: How Sydney Airport was the hottest place in the world on Wednesday at 12.15pm
On Wednesday, Sydney Airport was recorded as the hottest place in the world — at 38.2C.
Albeit a brief record, it happened at 12.15pm.
Sydney and areas in eastern NSW are currently facing a brutal spring heatwave, not to mention power notices telling people to “turn off their dishwashers” immediately.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.As clocks ticked passed 10am, temperatures had already reached well above 30C in the city’s suburbs, with the highest running temperatures recorded in Richmond, 34.7C, Sydney Airport, 34.5C and Penrith, 34.2C, according to Weatherzone.
At 11am, Penrith’s temperature hit a sweltering 36.5C and by 12.15pm, Sydney Airport had warmed to a toasty 38.2C.
“The early-season heat was so intense on Wednesday that the Sydney Basin briefly became the hottest place in the world,” Weatherzone stated.
There are a few reasons why western Sydney was able to hit this sizzling record.
“A low pressure trough sitting over Australia’s eastern inland is feeding a warm air mass towards eastern NSW,” Weatherzone explained, adding that the urban heat island effect combined with the foehn effect allowed the Sydney Basin to become warmer than surrounding areas of central eastern NSW.
You may be thinking, surely places like Africa or North America would be hotter than 38.2C or even places like Marble Bar in the Pilbara region in Western Australia, but they were not at this particular time of day.
“Other heat-prone areas in the Southern Hemisphere, such as Africa and South America, were at a cooler point in the day/night compared to Australia at midday Sydney time,” Weatherzone says, adding that the Northern Hemisphere is also approaching winter, making it much cooler this time of year.
“By midday, Sydney has already been under the warming influence of the sun for hours on end, while other heat-prone areas of Australia, like WA and the NT, hadn’t had as much solar heating yet.”
Weatherzone predicts other parts of Sydney could reach close to 40C today and “high volumes of atmospheric moisture will add to the muggy feeling”.
More hot weather is on the way on Thursday, but increased cloud, rain and thunderstorms will limit the heating, compared to Wednesday.
