Soaring temperatures won’t frazzle Queensland’s energy grid, the state government says.
Parts of the sunshine state were sweltering on Monday as inland areas reached more than 40C and numerous coastal and southeast centres recorded temperatures in the mid to high 30s.
On the Sunshine Coast, Nambour reached 35.3C at 12.20pm, while Sunshine Coast Airport and Tewantin hit 32.2C and 32.8C respectively by mid-morning.
Brisbane sweltered through temperatures eight degrees above average, with the state capital peaking at 35.7C.
Birdsville hit 40C by mid-morning, with a high of 44C expected.
“Birdsville didn’t get very cool overnight either, it didn’t really get below 30C,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Daniel Hayes told AAP on Monday.
“There was not really any relief overnight out that way.”
Energy Minister Mick De Brenni has forecast sufficient electricity supply to keep Queensland power running amid the extreme heat.
“I am assured teams at Queensland-owned energy corporations Powerlink and Energy Queensland are managing the situation carefully,” he said.
“The authorities will monitor the situation closely and if there is any change we will provide updates.”
The Queensland Ambulance Service said their workload had already increased with the onset of the heat.
“We’ve mobilised every resource possible,” medical director Stephen Rashford said.
“It’s going to be one of our busiest days … we all felt the heat over the weekend, it was unbearable.”
For parents of returning school students, ensuring access to water and sun safety is paramount.
“Have a general chat with them, let them know to keep up their water … and if they do start feeling headaches or tummy upsets, just to let someone at school know,” the ambulance service’s senior operations supervisor Matthew Hannabery said.
Education Minister Di Farmer described air conditioning in schools as ‘absolutely critical’ and said the state’s teachers were very conscious of the impact of heat on children.
“Teachers will be doing really practical things like making sure students aren’t spending too much time in the sun, to make sure they’re drinking water, and we just encourage parents to really talk through those things with their children as well,” she said.
A cool change is expected to bring relief for Queensland’s southeast on Tuesday.
Further inland, the bureau said conditions will still be sweltering until the weekend, with Birdsville expecting 46C on Tuesday and 47C on Wednesday.
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