Health, fire and emergency services in Australia's southeast are bracing for a heatwave for a second time this year.
But while the Bureau of Meteorology warns of serious heat, it may not be as gruelling as the earlier heatwave during which Adelaide earned the dubious label on January 16 of being the hottest city on Earth that day.
Senior meteorologist Simon Allen says they are both significant heatwave events.
"The second one probably won't be quite as severe as the one we had a couple of weeks ago, I think, but they are both very significant," he told AAP on Tuesday.
Victoria and the ACT are putting on extra ambulance and firefighting crews.
South Australia is already at peak resources, with 13,500 volunteers at the ready for the fire danger season.
In Victoria, residents are being warned that some parts of the state can expect a week-long heatwave with temperatures hovering above 40C in some areas from Thursday until Tuesday.
Ambulance Victoria has rostered on extra staff after workloads for ambulance crews soared by 25 per cent during the mid-January heatwave.
"The demand will be huge again," Ambulance Victoria operations manager Paul Holman said.
Residents in the ACT have been warned of a week of extreme heat with temperatures expected to stay in the high 30s.
The ACT Ambulance Service will put an extra crew on roster but doesn't expect major resource shortages.
In South Australia, firefighters have dealt with minor new blazes across the sweltering state, while firefighting operations are continuing at Bangor in the Southern Flinders Ranges and at Billiatt in the Riverland.
Fire bans across the state forced the closure of 11 schools on the day most children returned to school after the holidays.
Residents in Adelaide face temperatures soaring to 40C on Friday and hovering around that mark during the weekend. Temperatures are not expected to exceed the 44.2 degrees reached earlier in January.
On Monday, Adelaide will cool slightly to 39C.
Meanwhile in Tasmania, firefighters have been battling an out-of-control blaze in the state's southeast, on day of a total fire ban across the state.
The Tasmania Fire Service says the fire may put Wattle Hill and residents within the junction of White Hill Road and Wiggins Road, including the areas of Wharmbys Creek and Wiggins Creek, at high risk.
It says the bushfire is not controlled and embers and ash may fall on Wattle Hill.
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