Australia Weather News

In the far south west of Queensland, heat comes with the territory.

Life in Thargomindah is shaped by the harsh climate; a summer full of 40-something degree days that do not cool down by much at night.

At the wrong time of day, the sun-baked and sparsely populated place could easily be mistaken for a ghost town, as locals seek shelter from the blistering heat.

The saying goes "they breed 'em tough in the bush" and there are none tougher than Thargomindah kids who hit the hot bitumen barefoot.

Tamie Warner has lived in the town her whole life and works for the local council.

She said that while she was used to the high temperatures, it had never been 49 degrees, and yesterday got close.

Not enough to crack a record, but enough to cook an egg at 48.5 degrees. 

"It's normal for our summer to get between 44-46 … getting up to 49, though … I haven't experienced that," she said.

Outdoor work was halted.

"We don't actually have a heat policy because our summers are so hot, if we say stop work at 40 degrees, we're not going to work during summer.

"We just call it if it gets around 46-47.

"We do have good air conditioners, but everything struggles in this temperature."

There are locals still living in caravans after floods tore through the town 10 months ago. 

"I'm still in a caravan, but over Christmas, we moved our bedroom back in … it's much cooler in there," Ms Warner said.

"I don't know how anyone is living in a caravan in this heat."

A blackout or two is also not uncommon.

"We got a call [on Tuesday] from Ergon to all the businesses asking them to switch over to their generators to try and help with the power, so we did that," she said.

Nineteen-year-old James Pike made a name for himself as "Thargo's local weather reporter" by sharing daily flood updates on social media.

He said the town had been hoping to beat Birdsville to claim the title of Queensland's hottest town.

"Everyone would be hating it outside but everybody inside is like 'oh, can we get another record?'

"Birdsville Police Station got the record in 1972," he said.

But he admits he will be beating the heat by relocating to Toowoomba next year.

"Coming back here's just a nightmare … I think the coolest it got last night was 36 degrees, so that was pretty miserable,' he laughed.

Pool, pub, river

Few were willing to brave the heat in search of relief outside an air-conditioned room, but for the school kids, the bell signalled a beeline for the pool.

"I come to the pool or go swimming in the river," Ayla Tuite said.

But she admitted that the only other option is staying inside.

"It's too hot not to be."

The Thargomindah Pool has been a hotspot as summer drags on, with 493 visits in the past month.

"I'm busier than the pub here," Shane Dare, who runs the pool, said.

"They really do have a lot of fun here."

In the thick of summer, tradies know regular breaks and hydration is key.

But it can still be shocking for those not used to outback heat.

Toowoomba apprentice Lachlan Debel said he is coping with the heat "on a wing and a prayer," working smarter and not pushing too hard.

"At that kind of temperature, you start to take it in segments, making sure we're keeping our fluids up," Mr Debel said.

"It definitely takes a bit of structure to your day and a lot of pre-planning.

"We're going to have to get up a lot earlier to try and beat that heat."

For those who call Thargomindah home, even on the harshest days, there is nowhere else they would rather live.