Canada issues serious new travel advisory for Australia
The Government of Canada has just issued a serious travel advisory update for Australia due to a potential health risk.
Anyone travelling from Canada to Australia is being warned of a heat wave in parts of the country. Updated travel advice published on Friday warns that humidity and heat in Australia may be severe, particularly mid to late summer from December to February.
“Know the symptoms of dehydration and heatstroke, which can both be fatal,” reads the statement.
Canada is urging tourists to avoid driving great distances during extreme heat conditions “due to the great distances between settlements and the isolation of many outback areas.” According to 7News Australia, on Friday, temperatures in Melbourne reached 42.9°C and 40°C in Sydney.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a heatwave warning active until Sunday, Jan. 11. There are extreme heatwave warnings for Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes, and Riverina. Severe heatwave warnings are active for Hunter, Central Tablelands, Central West Slopes and Plains, Lower Western and Upper Western.
Elias Bitar/Shutterstock
“The severe to extreme heatwave will gradually ease from the west during the weekend as a southwest to southerly change brings milder temperatures,” reads the statement. “Locations likely to be impacted include Sydney, Broken Hill, Camden, Campbelltown, Gosford, Hornsby, Liverpool, Mona Vale, Orange, and Richmond.”
BoM warns that severe heatwaves can be dangerous, especially for older people, babies, children, people who are pregnant and breastfeeding, and people with medical conditions.
“Seek a place to keep cool, such as your home, a library, community centre, or shopping centre,” reads the statement. “Close your windows and draw blinds, curtains, or awnings early in the day to keep the heat out of your home. If available, use fans or air-conditioners to keep cool.”
The hot and dry conditions have also prompted authorities to issue a fire weather warning that could be brought on by thunderstorms, which could bring the risk of “dry lightning and damaging wind gusts.”