DANGEROUS HEATWAVE HITS AUSTRALIA WITH TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID TO HIGH 40S
Australians will remain hot and bothered for the rest of the week as heatwave conditions push temperatures into the mid 40s in some regions around the country.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast daytime temperatures of up to 12C above average and 10C higher than usual at night from Monday to Friday.
An extreme heatwave is expected to sizzle across most of eastern NSW this week while the rest of the state will experience severe conditions.
In Sydney temperatures are expected to peak on Thursday and Friday with much of the Sydney basin experiencing temperatures 10C above average for this time of the year, a bureau spokeswoman told .
Western Sydney suburbs will swelter with temperatures up to 43C in Richmond and 45C in Penrith on Friday.
Records have already started breaking with Borrona Downs in the state's northwest recording the highest minimum temperature ever in NSW with 34.6C on Monday.
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South Australia has had a scorching start to the week with severe heatwave conditions across most of the state and the government declaring a "code red" to unlock extra funds to support homeless shelters.
Severe heatwave conditions are expected for most of SA between Tuesday and Thursday with parts of the pastoral district to hit extreme heatwave conditions.
The hot weather comes as the Tour Down Under cycling event gets ready to start in Adelaide on Tuesday and the Australian Open continues in Melbourne.
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Tennis players will have cooler conditions than the cyclists but only just - Melbourne is forecast to experience temperatures in the low to mid-30s all week.
A widespread low intensity heatwave is also expected between Tuesday and Friday from central Western Australia to southern parts of the Northern Territory and southwestern Queensland, as well as parts of Tasmania and Victoria.
“Ex-Tropical Cyclone Penny was located a little over 100km/h to the east Bowen early on Wednesday morning and is expected to move towards the north northwest during the next 24 hours.”
Despite all of the rainfall, cities further inland such as Mount Isa and Longreach are forecast for temperatures of up to 39C by the middle of next week.
In the Northern Territory, Darwin can expect another wave of thunderstorms as the heat crosses Australia, with conditions of up to 34C and high chances of rain.
Meanwhile in Perth, 33C weather today should soon be replaced with slightly cooler 27C conditions tomorrow before multiple consecutive days of sunshine are expected to keep the mercury around 30C until next week.
Nationally, Hobart is the only city not expecting hot weather over coming days.
The BoM has forecast the Tasmanian Capital to receive conditions in the mid-20s into next week, with passing cloud cover and rain tipped until Tuesday.
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