BloombergTens of thousands of holidaymakers and residents were yesterday urged to evacuate a popular tourist spot in southeast Australia as a heatwave sweeping through the region threatened to escalate bushfires. In a televised appeal, Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp called on about 30,000 people vacationing around Lakes Entrance in the East Gippsland region to leave immediately. The fires, which are affecting several states, have triggered an emotive debate about the effects of global warming in the world’s driest inhabited continent. Parts of western Sydney are expected to reach 44°C by tomorrow, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said. Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations, which draw tens of thousands of tourists to the city for the harborside spectacle, are to go ahead regardless.

Source: Taipei Times December 29, 2019 15:56 UTC