G-g-g-g'day! Australia shivers as Antarctic air brings rare snowfall
New South Wales, Victoria, the Australia Capital Territory and the island state of Tasmania have all experienced snow.
Sunday 23 August 2020 14:32, UK
People living in the southeast of Australia have been enjoying rare snowfall brought on by Antarctic air.
New South Wales, Victoria, the Australia Capital Territory and the island state of Tasmania have experienced snow, with pictures of snowy towns and landscapes filling social media.
"We've seen light #snow make it to #Canberra today, and yes even heard a few rogue flakes landed on Parliament House," in the nation's capital, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Twitter.
The bureau said that more than one metre (3.3ft) of snow had fallen in a number of alpine regions, with the cold weather likely to remain for several days.
The wild winds and heavy snow led to the closure of some roads.
"It's awesome," Raj Kumar told the Seven Network.
Mr Kumar had travelled from Sydney with his family to see the snow in the town of Oberon in NSW's Blue Mountains, an area that was under threat from widespread bushfires last year.
"I think it's better than Perisher Valley," he added, referring to a popular snow resort about a four-hour drive south of Oberon.
Last week, a temperature of 54.4C (129.9F) was recorded in California's Death Valley during an intense heatwave in what could be the hottest reading ever reliably taken on the planet.