Southern Australia swelters through third day of heatwave as fire risk increases
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BoM issues heatwave warning for SA, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, with temperatures set to reach the 40s in some parts of the country on Sunday. All eyes are on a bushfire in Victoria that has been raging for weeks as southern Australia swelters through a three-day heatwave.
Hot conditions are expected to continue on Sunday from central Australia to the south-east, with pockets in Victoria’s east and New South Wales’s south-east to experience severe conditions until late Sunday. Firefighters are on high alert in Victoria as a fire in the Grampians, which began in mid-December, continues to burn.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. It has been declared an extreme fire danger day in the Mallee, Central and North Central regions with a warning of high fire danger in all other parts of Victoria. Total fire bans have been declared in the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, North Central and Central (which includes Melbourne and Geelong) districts.
The Country Fire Authority chief officer, Jason Heffernan, said the total fire ban had been declared because of the potential for gusty conditions. “This weekend’s hot and windy conditions pose a big risk for the state with significant fires already in the landscape,” he said.
“Heatwaves can be incredibly dangerous, and they kill more Australians than any other natural event.”. He said it was important for travellers to remain alert and up to date with fire danger warnings throughout the summer season. Authorities are monitoring fire threats in two of Victoria’s most popular national parks on opposite sides of the state, with tourists and locals in the Grampians and Wilsons Promontory urged to monitor alerts.
