As heat grips Australia, hundred-year records tumble, and fires rage

SHOOT: Floods in England, fires in Australia.

clipped from news.yahoo.com SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian firefighters battled dozens of bush blazes on Friday as record-breaking hot weather sparked "catastrophic" warnings in two states, just months after the country's worst ever wildfire disaster. Major lightning storms set off about 100 blazes in South Australia alone, most of which had since burned out, according to the state's Country Fire Service. More than a quarter of the state was considered at catastrophic risk and lightning strikes set two homes in the city ablaze. "The biggest challenge today and into the weekend is the continuing of this hot air mass dominating much of the state," he added. Hundred-year records tumbled this week as the south and southeast of Australia sweltered through a heatwave which dried out vast tracts of bush and farmland already in the grip of a decade-long drought. "The very hot temperatures we've seen across New South Wales right throughout this last week are simply breaking hundred-year records," he added.