Australia now so hot that a man roasted a pork joint in his car

Temperature of 81C in car 'worked a treat' on 1.5kg joint of meat

As Australia prepares for dangerously hot conditions forecasters have suggested could break all-time temperature records, one man has proved the high heat can be harnessed in unexpected ways.

Stu Pengelly, from Perth, successfully cooked a pork roast in his car as temperatures in western Australia soared.

He reportedly placed the joint of meat in a baking tin, and did no more than place it on the seat of his car – a red Datsun Sunny.

After about 10 hours “It worked a treat”, he said.

But his experiment was about more than getting a hot meal without turning on the oven. Writing on Facebook under the heading “WARNING”, he wrote: “Yesterday, I cooked [a] 1.5kg pork roast inside an old Datsun Sunny for 10 hrs on a 39 degree day. It worked a treat!”

He monitored the temperature in the car by the hour and even at 7am it was 30C.

By 10am it was 52C and by 1pm it hit “a staggering” 81C.

“Things to note... it has tinted windows, door & window seals are shot & there is a big rust hole in the roof, which stops the car getting as hot as it potentially could.

“If this was a later model vehicle & painted black the temperature at a guess could climb significantly higher.

“My warning is do not leave anyone or anything precious to you in a hot car, not for a minute.

“If you do see kids or dogs in a hot car, DO NOT HESITATE TO SMASH A WINDOW to get them out ASAP. It is not an offence to do this & you could save a life.

“Please keep a watch out.”

In response to Mr Pengelley’s warning, one commenter on Facebook wrote: “If I see a roast pig in a Datsun I’m def breaking it out.”

Mr Pengelley responded to ask if they would “call the apple sauce police”.

Another commenter posted a photograph of a black vehicle captioned: “95C in this Falcon”.

Last month two sisters aged one and two died after they were left in a car south of Brisbane, during 31C heat.

Perth has seen 10 days this month when temperatures soared above 35 degrees Celsius, according to Australia’s meteorology bureau, while this week temperatures in some remote parts of Australia could surpass the all time high of 50.7C recorded in 1960.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has said people in the south can expect back-to-back days of 49 and 50 degrees in some remote regions for Wednesday and Thursday.

Mr Pengelly told Reuters he next wants to try cooking roast beef in the Datsun.

“A quiche would cook in 2 hours, I reckon,” he said.