Capital cities expecting hot public holiday as Melbourne braces for 41C
Capital cities expecting hot public holiday as Melbourne braces for 41C
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Hot, dry and windy weather for Australia’s south-east prompts bushfire and heatwave warnings. Multiple heatwave and bushfire warnings are in place for the Australia Day public holiday, with every Australian capital city expecting maximum temperatures above 30C and Melbourne forecast for a scorcher.
On Monday Melbourne was forecast to hit 41C before a late cool change. Sydney was due for 31C, Brisbane 30C, Adelaide 35C, Perth 32C and Hobart 32C. Hot, dry and windy weather will cause extreme fire dangers for western and central Victoria and much of eastern South Australia.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. A total fire ban has been declared on Monday for the Wimmera, Mallee, south-west, central and north central regions of Victoria as temperatures are forecast to reach the high 30s to mid-40s, with gusty winds of 70km/h to 80km/h.
The Country Fire Authority chief officer, Jason Heffernan, said the conditions would make it difficult for firefighters to suppress any blazes that started. “We’re asking people to follow the strict conditions associated with the total fire ban declaration,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of low to severe heatwave conditions for much of the country including Western Australia, the Northern Territory, western Queensland and New South Wales. “We’re going to see temperatures for many of our inland areas get in the high 30s to low 40s, and that heat will get down to the Sydney area on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-30s,” senior meteorologist Dean Narramore told ABC News.
