THE BEAT IN AUSTRALIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10033, 21 January 1896, Page 5

THE BEAT IN AUSTRALIA.

A MEMORABLE DAY IN NEW SOUTH WALES. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 14th January, has the following respecting the intense heat of the previous day Whatever is coining over this country ! People struck almost lifeless in the streots, animals falling as though killed by some insidious disease, and man and beast in city and in country in torture ! Anyone who went through Sydney yesterday as a stranger might well eVcluim, "If this is their sunny New South Wales, Heaven help them !" Who lias known business ashore and afloat literally stopped on account of a high temperature rendering men physically unfit for duty ? Nor does It appear in the whole of the authenticated weather history of the colony that anything like it) has been known. Glancing back to the files of the Herald for half a century, there seems no summer that had yielded ns much discomfort as that of 189596. The year 1863 seems to have come 'bp pretty well with 106"7 in the shade, but prior to 1846 the temperatures were from 80' to anything up to 112*. In one or two instances they were 135". These were for thermometers which may in the light of more recent official reports be taken as part in the shade and park in the sun. They are, in fact, not given as true shade temperature?. As to the actual heat in the metropolis, there cannot bo much hesitation about supposing that it has not exceeded that) of yesterday at any time since a white man put his foot upon the coast. And this loads to a remark which may bo of interest here, namely, that what is known as the "true shade" is the shade afforded at the Observatory by one of the loveliest little summer-houses, almost buried in foliage, bub with lattice-work all round, so that the breeze may play upon the thermometers, but where the sun's rays can by no means be admitted. It is not the shade of George-street nor of any of the city streets, and in that sense the man about town had right on his side when on Sunday he declared, " What! 88* in the shade. Oh, that's nonsense; it must have been 100'." The truth is, that on Sunday night at nine o'clock, when the temperature at the Observatory was 88 - 6, ib was 98' in one of the coolest buildings in Sydney, with all windows opon. And it is easily accounted lor when one takes into account the heat of last week, and its effect upon the buildings —how they absorbed it all the week and retained it, never cooling. Ib would, therefore, be but a fair margin to allow for yesterday as between Observatory and town temperature that on, say, for example, the shady side of the thickly populated streots of East, West, and South Sydney 108 - 5 meant 118*5 in the shade. To the thousands of sick, to the equally numerous body of delicate, and amongst those who fight the battle of life in heated workshops, foundries, enginerooms, to the "bullocking" man who does his eight hours of grain carrying, wool shifting, and stowing down in the holds of our ships, and to the coal-stevedoring fraternity, such a day musb have boon fearful. As will be soon from the detailed reports the effect of such a heat has reached the hearths and homos of Bome families in the most terribleform—thedeathof the bread winner. In other instances the sunstroke, though not claiming his victim, has left him in so critical a state as to loave little hope. At the Gasworks the steamer Timaru was discharging, and one man was stricken down, whereupon work was suspended. All stevedoring and ship work was stopped, speaking generally. In the midsb of it all there was at ' least one section of the community who, while feeling the heat and sympathising with the sickness, wore kepb busy. All the hotels in the city were crowded, that is at least in the heart of the city itself. From 9 a.m. the bars were blocked, and extra waiters wero engaged. The ice carts were to be seen at almost every door, and the whole staff of the municipal authorities wero washing thq streets as a cooler. The relief afforded was, however, slight, the streets drying almost as quickly as they were watered. The peculiar glare of the sun (for one could look at it pretty well all day without difficulty) and the strango colour of the atmosphere were commented upon, and long after eight o'clock last evening there was a large and fiery reflection in the western sky, covering an extensive area, and so brilliant as to suggest an aurora. To many it suggested tho reflection of a large fire, but eventually the conclusion arrived at was that, although nearly half past eight o'clock, it was simply reflection of the setting sun, which had gone down in most angry mood. TUB CAUSE OF THK INTENSE HKAT. Mr. Russell said that the primary cause is the heating of the interior plains by the sun shining in a clear atmosphere. Under suoh circumstances the temperature of the soil frequently rises to 140'. Sir John Herschel mentions that in some experiments of his own at the Cape of Good Hope he had known the temperaturo of the soil to rise to 159% and Mr. Russell hud himself known the temperature to rise to 140*. 'It is not surprising, therefore, that tlio wind blowing over a great surface so hoated should become unpleasantly hot. As an illustration of the effect of wind on the temperature blowing over a surface, it may be mentioned that the temperature of tho nor'-easter on Sunday was only ' 86*1, against tho temporaturo to-day, 1085. The same sun shone on both (Jays, which w§re (so far as the atmosphere was concerned) very similar. Yet the two conditions produced a difference in the temperature of the two (lays of 19*4 degrees. In other words, the soa breeze brought in tho sea temperature on Sunday, and the land breeze brought in the temperature of the vast plains of the interior.