WELLINGTON, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) – All New Zealand sweltered in scorching temperatures, as many places in North Island of the country hit record high temperatures, in the first days of the new year, according to national weather broadcast agency, MetService today.
The agency reported that, Taupo, a tourism attraction town, in the central part of North Island, reached 33.2 degrees Celsius yesterday, making it an equal-warmest Jan day, since records began in 1950.
Jan 2 witnessed the second warmest Jan day for Invercargill, a town located at the far south end of the South Island, since 1948.
In the past days, since the new year, hot weather continuously scorched the country’s largest city Auckland and capital Wellington.
Many other towns surpassed 30 degrees Celcius, unusually hot compared with the same period in the past decades.
As more and more people swarmed to beaches to enjoy the sunshine and water activities, water-related fatalities surged in the past days.
As of yesterday, the number of water-related deaths in the country this summer, has reached 27 – already passing the 25 fatalities for each of the previous two summers – while there is still two months to go in this summer.
Chief Executive of Water Safety New Zealand, Daniel Gerrard, said, the country was now on track for one of the worst summers of water fatalities on record. Lifeguards urged locals to take greater care in waters, after an “alarming” number of incidents and fatalities in the sea and inland waterways.
MetService also suggested people prepare plenty of water, to avoid extreme physical exertion, while doing outdoor activities.– NNN-AGENCIES
