Times (UK): The horrific bushfires in southern Australia last week came during a fierce heatwave when the temperature soared to 48.8C (119.8F) at Hopetoun, Victoria — believed to be the highest temperature recorded so far south in the southern hemisphere. Apart from the heat, hardly a drop of rain has fallen in the region this year. This follows 12 years of abnormally low rainfall, the worst drought on record for southern Australia, which has turned huge swathes of farmland to dust. Is …