The fountains on Napier's Marine Parade are expected to be a popular spot for a splash and play as the temperatures rise during the weekend. Photo / Doug Laing
Some public spaces are being closed at the weekend because of the risks of fire in possibly the hottest weather on record in Hawke’s Bay.
With a forecast of three days of temperatures over 30C – passing the mark on Friday by 1.30pm with a forecast peak of 38C in Hastings on Sunday – Te Mata Park has been closed, as have Pan Pac forest tracks.
With Fire and Emergency New Zealand concerned about the fire risk in what has been called a “perfect fire-weather storm”, councils are also shutting down contract work where there is a risk of sparking or heat from machinery, such as mowers.
Behind the alert is a heatwave with temperatures as high as 45C across Australia, and westerly winds extending on to New Zealand.
The week started with forecasts that temperatures could hit 34C in Hastings on Sunday, but the numbers have been ticking over ever since.
As the predicted situation started to materialise today, MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the forecast peak temperature had risen as more information became available, and temperatures could be higher than forecast.
“It’s definitely in the realm of possibilities that there could be record temperatures, at least for January and possibly for all records,” she said.
The recognised hottest day in New Zealand in about 115 years of records was January 7, 1973, when 42.4C was recorded at Rangiora, and 39.2C at Ruatoria is recognised as the hottest in the North Island.
Also on the same date, 40.5C was recorded at Hawke’s Bay Airport, but it appears to have not been official according to record-keeping guidelines of the World Meteorological Organisation and national bodies such as MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Nevertheless, it was enough to buckle railway tracks.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Hawke’s Bay district manager Tony Kelly said the forecast conditions are a dangerous combination.
The temperature was heating up across the region, particularly in the Ahuriri, Heretaunga, Central Hawke’s Bay and Northern Tararua areas.
“These conditions create spike fire-risk days,” he warned. “On these days, fires can start easily, grow rapidly and become extremely difficult for our crews to control.”
Crews have been briefed and are prepared to respond quickly and effectively, with moves taken to make all resources available, including helicopters on standby.
Most of Hawke’s Bay was already in a prohibited or restricted fire season and all fire permits across the district were being suspended from today.
Some things can’t go on hold, such as sheep shearing, which is in the busiest stage of the season, with Flaxmere contractor Colin Watson Paul of Shearing NZ saying “we’ve got to keep going”.
He was expecting to have three crews working in Central Hawke’s Bay on Sunday.
While most modern woolsheds are well ventilated, most shearers have been in older tin sheds with temperatures of 45C or more.
Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay president Jim Galloway says contractors are aware of the risks posed by sparks from machinery during harvesting in paddocks.
Workplace health and safety agency WorkSafe last month issued some guidelines for people working in hot weather, saying: “As the glorious days of summer settle in, workloads increase for many around the country. Whether you’re up on the roof, busy with harvest, managing livestock or on the factory floor, higher temperatures and long, sunny days bring different risks.”
Central Region manager for WorkSafe, Nigel Formosa, said working in extremely hot environments can put workers’ bodies under stress.
Businesses must make sure employees’ health and safety is not put at risk while they are carrying out work in extreme heat, and workers need to be looking after themselves too.
When heading for the shade and putting your feet up for the day isn’t an option, businesses must have controls in place, while workers should drink plenty of cool fluids but avoid caffeine, energy drinks and alcohol.
Authorities urge people to minimise or postpone any spark- or heat-generating activities such as using power tools and mowing the lawn; to check any burn piles less than two months old and ensure they are fully extinguished; and to keep grass short.
Water restrictions are now widespread across Hawke’s Bay, with the fire risk amplifying the need to make sure there are water resources if fires do start.
A Hastings City Council spokesperson said the restrictions play an important role in protecting the water supply and reducing pressure on the system.
National highways agency NZTA Waka Kotahi Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti system manager Martin Colditz said crews are actively checking the state highways for signs of ‘bleeding,’ water carts are on standby to spray water on hot spots, and are spreading sealing chips on affected areas to protect the road surface and improve traction. He appealed to motorists to drive to the conditions, slow down and follow the traffic management signs. Respecting speed limits would also minimise damage to the roads, and prevent further issues.
Today, it seemed a given that temperatures in Hawke’s Bay will be the hottest since – and possibly hotter than – those in the summer of 2019-2020, when 30 people were killed in Australian bushfires and Hawke’s Bay had its own big blaze at Tangoio.
Doug Laing has been a journalist since 1973, the year New Zealand had its hottest temperatures of the last century. He has worked in Hawke’s Bay more than 40 years, at the Central Hawke’s Bay Press, Napier Daily Telegraph, and Hawke’s Bay Today.