HEAT WAVE AT WEEK-END

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20758, 29 December 1930, Page 8

HEAT WAVE AT WEEK-END

CHRISTCHURCH DISTRICT. hottest spell for years. TENNIS PLAYERS COLLAPSE. SEA BATHING AT MIDNIGHT. [by telegraph.—peess association.] CHRISTCHURCH, Sunday. The hottest spell of weather for several years was experienced at Christchurch at the week-end. On Friday a hot north-west wind blew but the sky was overcast and the weather sultry. It was very oppressive but with- # out a very intense heat. Yesterday the wind increased in j/elocity and was of a scorching heat, while the sun blazed relentlessly from a clear sky. At 10 a.m. the temperature was 85 degrees in the shade. The maximum heat was reached at 2 p.m., when 89.9 degrees were registered. At 5.30 p.m. the thermometer showed 85 degrees. To-day the weather was still hot but the air was cooled slightly by a light south-west breeze. On Saturday many people collapsed at the tennis tourney and the heat certainly affected the results of the important matches. Miss D. Nicholls, former New Zealand champion, collapsed exhausted. Miss M. Wake had a slight heat stroke and her partner, . Miss M. Andrew, was also ill as a result of the heat. Many other players also suffered acute distress and abandoned their games. This morning several women fainted during the service in the cathedral.

At the cricket match yesterday and at the broadsiding in the evening numbers of male spectators discarded their coats and watched the events in their shirtsleeves. All the beaches were thronged and at Brighton bathers were in the water until midnight.

EXPERIENCE AT MASTERTON. TEMPERATURE OVER 95 DEGREES. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION. ] MASTERTON, Sunday. The temperature in the shade at Masterton this afternoon was 95.2 degrees, the highest for several years. SUNSHINE IN AUCKLAND. WARMEST WEATHER OF SEASON.

Warm weather was experienced in Auckland in the past three days, with almost unbroken sunshine. On Friday the shade temperature reached 81 degrees, with a minimum of 60 degrees, but on Saturday and Sunday the hottest weather of the season was experienced. A maximum temperature of 84 degrees was recorded and the thermometer did not fall below 64 degrees. On Friday and Saturday there was a light southerly breeze,- but yesterday it came gently from the north-east. The absence of rain during the month is now being felt in gardens, and most lawns are taking on a parched appearance.