The weather has broken, for a while at least, and only locally - here in Melbourne.

Right now I have all the windows open and it's 16.3 16.3 C, or a pleasant 61.3 C.

I'm sitting here at the computer with rather too few clothes on. It's deliciously cool, But in a day or two we're going back to 40 C or thereabouts -which is why I'm soaking up the cool!

BTW, yesterday was the second hottest day in recorded history in Melbourne. We hit 43.9 (111 F !). - The record temperature in Melbourne, ever, was 48 C (118.5 C) in the 1850's, and the next day a massive bushfire blazed through the suburbs.

This time we were lucky, but many rural townships have had a very bad day. Some of our ski resorts have been attacked by flames with loss of property, but no human casualties.

We have to wait another 4-6 weeks before the fire season is over, but it is lookong to be one of the top 3 or 4 in recorded history.

Global warming or not, it's a shit of a year!