Australia Sweats through Heatwave, Bushfire Risk Rated ‘Extreme’

The Sydney Harbor Bridge is shrouded by smoke on September 13, 2023, after a ring of controlled fires burned in areas around the city in preparation for the looming bushfire season. (AFP)
The Sydney Harbor Bridge is shrouded by smoke on September 13, 2023, after a ring of controlled fires burned in areas around the city in preparation for the looming bushfire season. (AFP)
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Australia Sweats through Heatwave, Bushfire Risk Rated ‘Extreme’

The Sydney Harbor Bridge is shrouded by smoke on September 13, 2023, after a ring of controlled fires burned in areas around the city in preparation for the looming bushfire season. (AFP)
The Sydney Harbor Bridge is shrouded by smoke on September 13, 2023, after a ring of controlled fires burned in areas around the city in preparation for the looming bushfire season. (AFP)

Large swaths of Australia on Sunday sweltered through a heatwave as authorities warned of elevated bushfire risk in an already high-risk fire season during an El Nino weather pattern.

The nation's weather forecaster had heatwave alerts in place for Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Western Australia, warning temperatures in some parts of the country could hit the low 40s Celsius (over 104 degrees Fahrenheit).

An El Nino is a climate pattern in which unusually warm Pacific Ocean temperatures are associated with phenomena such as cyclones, droughts, wildfires and heatwaves.

The high in the west of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was forecast at 39 C (102 F), almost 10 degrees above the February mean, forecaster data showed.

Hot and dry conditions combined with gusty winds prompted the forecaster to issue "extreme fire danger" warnings for parts of Victoria and South Australia states.

Sunday's hot weather - the latest in a string of heatwaves to scorch Australia - comes after the country's east was hit last month by damaging floods.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.