Australians warned to 'respect the heat' during heatwave

Parts of Australia are this week experiencing extreme weather conditions, including Victoria and South Australia. Find out more about Australia's heatwave here.

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Adelaide

Temperatures continue to soar in Adelaide, where a max of 45C is expected today. A temperature of 42.4C was recorded at 1.50pm

SA heatwave a 'class act', forecaster says

Canberra

A hot day in Canberra, with a high of 40C forecast.

Sydney

Sydney is experiencing high temperatures today with a max of 30C expected. Western Sydney is set for a scorcher, with the mercury set to soar to almost 40C. 

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the temperature was expected to reach 39C in Penrith today, while a coastal breeze would keep the city cooler at 30C.

Melbourne

Melbourne is sweltering today, with a max temperature of 41C forecast - the second of four days predicted to be above 40C.

Fires flare during Victorian heatwave

Meanwhile 10 firefighters have been treated for heat stress as more than 30 fires continue to blaze across Victoria in hot conditions.

Lightning strikes started more than 250 fires overnight, with 20 fires still considered to be ongoing this afternoon, the largest, a seven thousand-hectare blaze in the Lake Albacutya and Rainbow area between Horsham and Ouyen.

Melbourne's weather was so hot in the city that at the Australian Open on Tuesday a tennis a player hallucinated that he saw Snoopy on court before fainting mid-match, a ball kid collapsed and water bottles melted on court.

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Perth

A possible late shower could bring reprive to Perth, where a bushfire recently destroyed 50 homes.

Investigators have confirmed the Parkerville bushfire that destroyed more than 50 homes was started by a fallen power pole on private property.

Brisbane

A high of 30C is forecast in Brisbane today.

Hobart

It is mostly sunny in Hobart today, with a high of 26C expected.

Darwin

Sunny conditions are forecast today in Darwin, with a high of 30C.

At a media conference today, Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Holman said there were 86 heat-related call-outs in Victoria yesterday and a 40 per cent increase in the number of cardiac arrests.

He urged Australian to engage with the conditions and adjust our lifestyles accordingly.

Emergency services are advising parents not to leave children in hot cars, even for a short time.

*All temperatures taken from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s website.