Australia is officially the hottest place on earth today – as country sweats through scorching heatwave
Australia is currently the hottest country in the world, taking over all the top ten spots for global cities and towns in the last 24 hours.
Birdsville in Queensland was the hottest place on Earth at 2pm on Monday, with a high of 45.6 degrees Celsius, according to data from Eldorado Weather.
Urandangi in Queensland was not far behind at 45.2°C and Walpeup in Victoria at 45.1°C.
It comes as a severe heatwave grips the country, bringing one of the hottest Decembers in years.
Parts of Victoria, NSW and Queensland have reached the high 40s, while the Northern Territory will experience severe to extreme heatwaves for much of the next three days.
Major bushfires are expected in southeastern Australia and there are warnings of extreme fire danger.
Mount Lofty Ranges in eastern South Australia and most of western and central Victoria, including Melbourne, are under extreme fire danger warnings.
“These hot, dry and windy conditions are likely to lead to extreme fire dangers,” said Dean Narramore from the Bureau of Meteorology.
A heat wave has hit several states, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees
Melbourne is expected to reach a scorching 41 degrees Celsius today – the hottest December day since 2019
“That means if a fire breaks out in this weather, it will likely be out of control and out of control.”
Melbourne, with an expected 41 degrees Celsius, will see its hottest day since January 2023 and the hottest December day since 2019.
The mercury is expected to reach 46 degrees Celsius in Mildura in the state’s north-west, 45 degrees Celsius in Swan Hill and 44 degrees Celsius in Horsham.
Total fire bans have been declared across most of Victoria, with incident management teams and firefighting aircraft on standby in critical regional areas.
Sydney, Penrith and Richmond are forecast to reach 35 degrees Celsius on Monday and 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Temperatures in the port city are forecast to remain high throughout the week.
Parts of inland NSW could see even more extreme heat than Victoria.
A high of 47 degrees Celsius is expected in Wilcannia, in central northwest NSW, and 46.5 degrees Celsius in Ivanhoe, about 180 kilometers further south.
A high fire danger warning is in effect for much of western NSW on Tuesday.
Queensland also faces the risk of flash flooding in the south-east on Monday as wet weather is expected to hit from Yeppoon on the central coast to Brisbane.
The agency warned residents of the southeast to prepare for flash flooding in the coming days.
Australians are expected to stay cool by hitting the beaches as temperatures rise
Places to cool off will be in high demand as temperatures rise across the country
It comes after Brisbane was lashed by rain on Saturday, with the downpour causing flash flooding across the city.
The extreme temperatures will be short-lived for NSW and Victoria, with heatwave conditions expected to ease on Monday evening.
A cold front will move across South Australia on Monday morning and is expected to reach western Victoria in the afternoon and bring relief to Melbourne and central parts of Victoria in the evening, Narramore said.
But the heat will persist in Queensland and the Northern Territory for the rest of the week.
Rain is also expected to continue off the Queensland coast throughout the week, with daily totals of up to 60mm.
Some areas could see more than 150-250mm thick by the end of the week, Weatherzone warned.
Melbourne
Monday: Mostly sunny in the morning, cloud increasing from the west in the afternoon. Small chance of showers in the late evening. From the beginning of the afternoon there is a chance of a thunderstorm with little or no rain. Possible severe thunderstorms with damaging winds. Wind northerly up to 50 km/h, turning cooler south to southwest up to 25 km/h in the late evening. Maximum 41.
Tuesday: High chance of showers. Chance of a thunderstorm in the morning. Mostly sunny afternoon. Wind south to southwest at 25 km/h, becoming light before sunrise, then becoming southwesterly to 35 km/h early this morning. Minimum 17 Maximum 24.
Wednesday: Small chance of showers in the morning. Mostly sunny afternoon. Wind southwest at 20 km/h, turning south to 30 km/h in the morning. Minimum 14 Maximum 21.
Thursday: Sunny. Wind south to southeast 15 to 20 km/h, becoming light in the morning, then becoming south to southeast to 25 km/h in the afternoon. Min. 12 Max. 27.
Sydney
Monday: Partly cloudy morning, sunny afternoon. Slight chance of showers this morning. Light winds coming from a northeasterly direction during the day, 20 to 30 km/hour. Maximum 29.
Tuesday: Sunny day. There is some chance of showers in the late afternoon and evening. There is a chance of a thunderstorm in the west in the late afternoon and evening. Wind north to northeast to 25 km/h, turning south to southeast to 35 km/h in the evening. Minimum 20 Maximum 32.
Wednesday: Cloudy. Chance of showers in the morning. Wind southerly 25 to 40 km/h. Minimum 18 Maximum 23.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers. Wind south to southeast 15 to 25 km/hour, light in the evening. Minimum 18 Maximum 23.
Brisbane
Monday: Partly cloudy. Very high chance of showers. The chance of thunder. Wind southeast up to 35 km/h. Maximum 28.
Tuesday: Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, probably in the morning and afternoon. The chance of thunder. Winds will be southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h, trending easterly in the morning and becoming light in the early afternoon. Minimum 23 Maximum 28.
Wednesday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, probably in the afternoon and evening. The chance of thunder. The wind will turn weak to east to southeast up to 20 km/h in the afternoon and tend to south to southeast in the evening. Min. 23 Max. 29
Thursday: Cloudy. Small chance of showers, probably in the morning. Wind southerly 15 to 25 km/h, trending southeast 20 to 30 km/h in the morning then light in the evening. Minimum 20 Maximum 26.
Perth
Monday: Clearing of the clouds. Wind southwest 20 to 30 km/h, trending south 15 to 25 km/h in the evening, then becoming light late in the evening. Minimum 16 Maximum 25.
Tuesday: Sunny. Wind southeasterly at 20 km/h, trending easterly to 40 km/h before sunrise and turning southerly to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon. Minimum 17 Maximum 35.
Wednesday: Sunny. Wind east to northeast 15 to 20 km/h, turning to southwest 25 to 35 km/h in the morning then trending to southwest 15 to 25 km/h in the evening. Minimum 20 Maximum 32.
Thursday: Sunny. Wind southerly at 25 km/h, trending south to southwest at 35 km/h during the day, then southeasterly 20 to 30 km/h in the evening. Minimum 16 Maximum 30.
Adelaide
Monday: Mostly sunny morning. Small chance of showers, probably tonight. There is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Wind northwest to northeast to 35 km/h, trending northwest to southwest to 40 km/h in the middle of the day, then southwest to 35 km/h in the late afternoon. Maximum 38.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Wind southwest 25 to 35 km/h, becoming southerly in the late afternoon and decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h in the evening. Minimum 16 Maximum 26.
Wednesday: Sunny. Wind southeast 20 to 30 km/h. Min. 13 Max. 29.
Thursday: Sunny. Wind east to southeast 15 to 25 km/h, becoming south to southwest during the day, then trending southeast to 15 to 20 km/h during the evening. Min. 16 Max. 33.
Hobart
Monday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, probably tonight. The chance of thunder. Wind from the north 20 to 30 km/h, light in the late evening. Maximum 33.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, probably in the early morning. Wind southwest 15 to 20 km/h, becoming light before sunrise, then becoming west 25 to 35 km/h in the morning. Minimum 16 Maximum 21.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Wind west to southwest 15 to 25 km/h, turning south to southeast 20 to 30 km/h in the afternoon. Minimum 12 Maximum 20.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. During the day the wind will be weak from the southeast, 15 to 25 km/h. Minimum 10 Maximum 21.
Darwin
Monday: Partly cloudy. There is a chance of showers, probably this afternoon and evening. There is a chance of a thunderstorm from late in the morning. Wind west up to 25 km/h, light in the evening. Maximum 35.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Moderate chance of showers, likely in the late afternoon and evening. The chance of thunder. Wind west to southwest up to 25 km/h, trending west to northwest up to 20 km/h in the afternoon and evening. Minimum 27 Maximum 35.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. The chance of thunder. Wind west 15 to 25 km/h, light in the evening. Minimum 27 Maximum 35.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, probably in the morning. The chance of thunder. Light winds, westerly 15 to 20 km/h during the day, then light in the evening. Min. 25 Max. 33.
Canberra
Monday: Sunny. Light winds, initially northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon, then light in the evening. Maximum 37.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny morning. Small chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. The wind will be light to 30 km/h in the morning and turn northwest to 30 km/h in the late evening. Min. 19 Max. 35.
Wednesday: Small chance of showers in the morning. Mostly sunny day. Wind east to southeast, increasing slightly during the day to 30 km/h. Min. 13 Max. 28
Thursday: Sunny. Winds will be southeasterly up to 20 km/h, becoming light during the day and becoming easterly up to 25 km/h in the afternoon. Min. 9 Max. 28.