High bushfire danger across Australia’s east as Melbourne set for hottest day in a year

Melbourne has experienced its hottest day in almost a year, as other states sweltered through temperatures up to 17C above average.

The temperature in Melbourne hit 36.7C on Monday afternoon – the highest recorded temperature since 31 January last year – while Hopetoun, Swan Hill, Walpeup and Longerenong in the Wimmera were the hottest places in Victoria with temperatures reaching 39C.

A senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, Michael Laczko, said the high temperatures were a return to a typical summer after some cooler weather.

“It’s not particularly unusual for a Victorian summer, it just feels somewhat striking given the temperatures we have been having lately,” he said.

There’s relief on the way for Melbourne with a cool change expected to hit in the early hours of Tuesday morning, before a return to hotter temperatures on Wednesday.

A low-intensity heatwave is expected to continue for inland parts of the state, particularly in the north-east, where temperatures are expected to climb into the high 30s and even low 40s.

The heat prompted a total fire ban to be declared for the Mallee, Northern Country and Wimmera, with the danger rated as severe across the three regions.

The fire danger in the Central, North Central and South-West regions was considered very high, while it is high in the North-East and Gippsland regions.

V/Line enacted its extreme heat timetable across the whole of Victoria on Monday, with services along the Bairnsdale, Bendigo, Echuca, Geelong, Gippsland and Swan Hill lines affected.

In South Australia, an emergency warning was issued for a bushfire in the south-east town of Lucindale as temperatures hit 39C.

By early afternoon Adelaide had climbed past its forecast top temperature of 37C with a high of 38.3C while in regional centres the mercury soared into the low 40s.

Southern Tasmania sweltered through a summer scorcher, with the island’s hottest temperature almost 17C above average.

Hobart hit 36.3C, while Bruny Island south of the capital hit a state-high of 36.8C, 16.7C above average.

“We have been able to manage and suppress a couple of small bushfires with quick responses,” regional fire controller Phil Smith said.

“The risk of bushfires remains into the weeks and months ahead.

A cool change is forecast late on Monday night and into Tuesday.

In NSW, a high pressure system over the Tasman Sea is drawing warmer air across the state, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting temperatures to hit the high 30s and lows 40s.

Southern NSW and the Riverina are already feeling the heat but it will build and spread across the state, likely until Friday.

“We’ll see temperatures in Wagga Wagga [reach] 41 on Wednesday, the hottest time of the week for that area, [and] Griffith, 42,” meteorologist Melody Sturm said.

“Those are both about nine degrees above the January average.”

With the heat comes heightened fire danger across the state. The Riverina is currently the subject of a very high danger rating, which will extend until Thursday.

The ACT will also swelter this week, with Canberra expected to reach 36°C.

source: theguardian.com