continued: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30225276Australia has always suffered from bouts of extreme hot weather but the number and intensity of heatwaves is on the rise, prompting a rethink of how the country lives, works and plays in the sun.
Some like it hot, but the 13-day stretch with temperatures exceeding 40C in Longreach that ended last week was some of the hottest weather in living memory for the Queensland town.
It was also a new heatwave record for the cattle country town, beating the previous record by four days, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
Livestock dams began drying up, local companies asked staff to start work early to avoid the worst of the heat and native animals struggled to find water.
It was not an isolated weather pattern. Last year was Australia's hottest since records began in 1910, according to the bureau.
Thanks to climate change, much of Australia will be subjected to longer, hotter and more regular spells of extremely hot weather, say climate scientists.
To cope, Australian industry needs to start "heat-proofing" its operations and sporting authorities need to rethink when and for how long competitions are played outside, says Elizabeth Hanna, president of health sector organisation, the Climate and Heath Alliance, and a researcher at the Australian National University.
It also raises questions about the kinds of houses Australians live in, says Ms Hanna, who is in the midst of a four-year project funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council that is measuring how high temperatures can rise before workers and productivity are affected.
Dangers
Much of the research done around the world has looked at how military personnel and elite athletes cope with very high temperatures.
But the average person responds quite differently to very hot weather, she says.
Local club sports and recreational participants and organisers must also consider the heat when they plan their games, she says.
"There are some forward-thinking [sporting] people who realise they have to change but it is quite a big deal for all groups to agree on changes," she says.
Tennis Australia is reviewing its hot weather policy after the 2014 Australian Open in Melbourne was disrupted by a week-long heatwave in January.
Organisers of the event - the first of four annual international Grand Slam tennis events - implemented an extreme-heat policy halfway through the tournament when temperatures on the outside courts hit 43C.
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Also: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30271707 (Australia has hottest spring on record as temperatures soar)
