Australia is bracing for an intense heatwave that is set to shatter temperature records across various regions, as reported by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
BoM meteorologist Christie Johnson has warned that south-eastern Australia is on the brink of experiencing severe to extreme heatwave conditions, alongside potentially catastrophic fire dangers in the coming week.
Temperatures are expected to soar to unprecedented levels, particularly in parts of south-east Australia, with Victoria poised to bear the brunt of this heatwave.
“As the new week unfolds, the heat will intensify over South Australia, New South Wales, and especially in the north-western areas of Victoria,” Johnson noted. “Adelaide is forecast to reach a high of 43°C on Monday.”
Kevin Parkin from the Bureau of Meteorology highlighted that the combination of hot and dry winds will heighten the risk of fires across the state on Tuesday, a day he described as “quite significant.”
Parkin further explained that a persistent dome of heat will remain over Victoria, not just throughout the weekend but extending well into the following week.
“We’re looking at many centres cracking 40 degrees, including Ouyen with 48 degrees on Tuesday.
“Many centres are probably going to approach their all time-maximum records.
“This is quite a significant day.”
Mildura, also in north-western Victoria, is forecast to reach 47C.
“That would be a January record”, Johnson said.
“For NSW, it might actually be Wednesday that is the hottest day for many locations. And again, we could see some records falling.”
Maximum temperature records have already been broken across Western Australia on Wednesday, with Carnarvon reaching 47.9C — slightly below its highest ever temperature of 49.9C in February 2024.
Hot temperatures and heatwaves will be felt in several parts sooner.
From Friday, the heat will move into eastern parts of Western Australia and western parts of South Australia.
According to BoM’s latest heatwave warning, maximum temperatures will generally be in the high-30s in the east to high-40s in the west.
“On Saturday, the trough will continue to move eastwards, tracked by a cold front over the Southern Ocean. And that’s going to give a lot of heat over South Australia, Victoria and NSW,” Johnson said.
Johnson said there will be “a lot of heat over South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales” on Saturday, with maximum temperatures reaching 42C in Adelaide.
Temperatures in Melbourne will reach the 40s over the weekend, with the Australian Open tennis at Melbourne Park likely to be impacted.
The BoM has issued severe heatwave warnings for the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland, and NSW, which will remain in effect until the end of the week.
South Australia is also under an extreme heatwave warning.
Heatwaves categorised as severe can be more dangerous for some individuals, particularly older adults, infants, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, those with medical conditions, and anyone who is unwell.
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