More than 20 Australian Antarctic Program expeditioners plunged into a -2C ice hole on Macquarie Island on Sunday morning to celebrate the winter solstice, while over 50 swimmers jumped into the icy water at Bicton Baths in Perth to commemorate the shortest day of the year.
Perth's Cold Snap
Perth recorded an overnight minimum of 10.8C on the solstice, but the city experienced its coldest morning of the year on Thursday, with the mercury falling to 0.5C. Jandakot hit a near-freezing 1C on Friday morning, and some country centres fell below 0C.
The lowest minimum temperature ever recorded in June in Perth was -0.7C on June 17, 2006.
Local Reaction
Perth mother Esther Malyniak described the past week as “extremely freezing” and said it was a mental battle to get out of bed every morning. She braves the weather every Sunday morning, rugged up in her Swiss ski jacket, to take her 10-year-old son, Jake, to his weekly soccer game.
“We had to get up at 6.45am this morning whilst it was still dark ... I’ve got my thermals on and lots of layers, my ski jacket from Switzerland, my beanie and my dog to keep me warm,” she said. “It seems this week that there’s a real chill in the air, and once you get cold, it’s hard to get warm.”
She said her family survives the winter chill with heat packs, hot water bottles, footy rugs, and honey lemon drinks.
Antarctic Tradition
The midwinter swim is a tradition for Australian Antarctic Program expeditioners, who marked the solstice with a dip in an ice hole at Casey Station and Macquarie Island. The event celebrates the shortest day of the year and the return of longer daylight hours.
Perth Weather Forecast
Monday: Shower or two, 9C-19C. Tuesday: Sunny, 7C-20C. Wednesday: Sunny, 8C-20C. Thursday: Sunny, 8C-22C. Friday: Showers, 9C-19C.
