By Abe Maddison
A life-and-death struggle is playing out in a suburban backyard, symbolic of a nation that is wilting in a baking summer heatwave.
As the temperature climbed towards its predicted top of 46C on Thursday, Mildura Mayor Ali Cupper said two willie wagtails nesting in a pool umbrella at her parents’ Sunnycliffs home were suffering heat stress.
“The mum and dad willie wagtails are working in shifts, one will stay with them while the other one scouts for food – they are just adorable,” she said.
“There’s three little babies in there, and my parents keep putting misters on them to keep them cool without flooding or dissolving the nest.
“In Mildura at the moment, it’s just about keeping things alive.”
Ms Cupper said the northwest Victorian city, which is forecast to hit 45C on Friday, was coping with typical weather for a semi-arid region.
“We have that classic dry desert heat – super, super hot without humidity – in the Mallee and the only way to really get respite from it is to be in or near water or under an air-conditioner,” she said.
“For wildlife, and also for a lot of pets that can’t come inside, it’s just brutal.
“We’ve got a hawk sitting in our bird bath as I look out the window right now, having a bit of a swim – we’ve got all sorts of native wildlife showing their faces because they’re trying to get respite from the heat.”
In Onslow in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, Finnish fitter Eemil Jukarainen is adjusting to 48C after returning to Australia from his homeland, where the temperature was -39C.
He uses oxyacetylene equipment on an oil and gas decommissioning project, and has to take breaks every 15 minutes in the intense heat.
“I have to keep my head cold and just try to remember to drink plenty of water,” Jukarainen said.
“Back home, you worry about frostbite when you’re handling the cold spare parts, but here it’s the opposite – when you’re touching all of the steel parts, you have to be afraid that you will burn your hands.”
He keeps returning to Australia because “I think people here are great, and I do find a lot of similarities with Finnish people and Australians because in both of these countries, we have to handle these extreme temperatures and weather”.
In Coober Pedy, more than 800km north of Adelaide, the temperature neared 46C on Thursday.
Desert Cave Hotel manager Mhely Eacott said most people left town in summer because of the extreme heat and returned in March.
“Most of the houses here are underground because of the heat,” she said.
“We stay inside. If we have work outside, like maintenance, I roster people on early because I don’t want them getting heat stroke out there.”
Despite the heat, she said she loved the town, where she has lived for 13 years: “It’s like home to me.”
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