Summer Early in Australia
on Oct 13

Hottest October day for Sydney as Australia battles Bushfires, Locusts

Australia's largest city sweltered through its hottest October day on record as authorities battled early spring bushfires and stockpiled pesticides to fight a heat-induced locust plague. The mercury in Sydney hit 38.2 degrees Celsius (100.76 degrees Fahrenheit), which the New South Wales meteorology bureau said was highest temperature in the city since it began keeping records about 150 years ago. Residents flocked to the city's famous Bondi Beach to try to cool down. Meanwhile about 25 bushfires raged in regional areas of New South Wales, forcing the evacuation of 50 people from houses near Nowra south of Sydney, fire service officials said. Authorities were also stockpiling record levels of pesticides to try to control a plague of locusts hatched by the hot weather.