Damn, that's HOT!

So I understand that Eastern Canada is now actually getting some real winter after a green Christmas slid into an unusually warm January. Well, we've been having some unusual weather here as well. Every Queenslander I've met has remarked on how cool the summer has been so far, with highs of only 25 or 26 around Christmas (real hardship, eh?). This is actually a good thing, as it's supposed to be insanely hot, so cooler temperatures are actually welcome.

But who cares about the weather? It's the same whining you've heard a million times: it's always either too hot or too cold. What is exceptional, however, is the UV radiation. Today the UV index was 13, which really wasn't that bad. Note that these numbers are on the same scale as that used in Canada. However, back in Ottawa, people are warned to put on sunscreen and avoid going outside when the UV index is "very high" at 8. Hah! That's nothng: here the sun gives us an 8 at dawn, then proceeds to climb into the "extreme" range (anything over 11) before one gets to work. The UV alert for extreme radiation for today ran from 7:40 AM to 4:00 PM. As the sun sets at 6:30, that's effectively the whole day. It's so intense that you actually feel the light on your skin. And I don't mean "Gee, the sun is nice and warm." It actually feels like it's biting into your shoulders. Most days the index is 15, and futher north on the Sunshine Coast I've seen readings of 16! That's twice the level of UV as one would experience on a hot summer day in Canada (if the index is linear; I can't fathom what it would mean if the scale was logarithmic).

Any sort of physical activity must be done very early in the day. I've seen retired folks on the tennis courts at 6AM because by 8 it's just way too hot for any sport. So I wear a big hat and sunscreen.