Total fire bans have been issued for four NSW districts including Sydney.
Total fire bans are in place on Thursday for the Sydney Metro, Greater Hunter, Northern Slopes and North Western Regions, with severe fire danger forecast for each.
Temperatures in Sydney are expected to approach 40C over much of Sydney, and rise into the low 40s in parts of the Hunter and northern regions.
The heat and fresh to strong northeast to northwesterly winds combined to raise the fire risk.
While cooler outside those areas, the fire danger remains very high for the Far North Coast, North Coast, New England, Central Ranges, Illawarra, Southern Ranges, Eastern Riverina, Southern Riverina and Northern Riverina districts.
A strong and gusty southerly change is expected in southern regions.
The total fire bans will remain in place until midnight on Thursday.
