It was an uncomfortable night for most Australians as temperatures crept up to a sweltering 30C.
Australia is currently experiencing one of the hottest heatwaves on record and Wednesday will see highs soaring into the late 40s in some areas.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Diana Eadie said ‘severe to extreme heatwave temperatures are expected to persist across most of the country.’
Australia has sweltered through yet another record breaking day, driving night-time temperatures up toward 30C
‘Temperatures are expected to climb into the low to high 40s — that’s eight to 12 degrees above average,’ she said.
‘We’ve already seen some January maximum temperature records fall and we’re likely to see many more before this event is over.
‘The humidity and “feels like” temperature will make for really oppressive conditions.’
The heat is expected to persist through the days and nights for the rest of the week, according to Weatherzone’s Ben Domensino.
Many Australians flocked to the beaches to cool off as they sweltered through record-breaking temperatures
Beach-goers were embracing the warmer weather on Tuesday, arriving at beaches across the nation in droves
‘This week’s heat will be persistent during both days and nights, until a cool change sweeps through South Australia from Thursday, then crosses southeastern Australia on Friday and Saturday,’ he said.
That cool reprieve is expected to arrive by Sunday.
‘The heat is remaining stagnant through the southeast until we have this cool change on Friday and Saturday,’ Ms Eadie said.
It should shave up to 8C off temperatures in inland NSW and Victoria, which have seen some of the worst temperatures in the state.
Penrith, in Sydney’s west will fall from 45C on Friday to 29C on Sunday.
Beach-goers were embracing the warmer weather on Tuesday, by stripping off and swimming in the ocean
But the cold front brings about the potential for dry and humid thunderstorms.
‘Dry thunderstorms are a particular concern as lightning with no rain may ignite new fires.’
Outback South Australia was the hottest place on earth on Earth on Tuesday, where temperatures exceeded 50C.
Forecasters warned of more record-smashing temperatures before the weekend.
Tarcoola in South Australia’s far north reached its hottest temperature in 58 years with 49 degrees at 3.20pm on Tuesday while Port Augusta recorded its hottest day on record when it officially reached 48.9.
While the official temperature was recorded at 48.9, this photo shows that Port Augusta in South Australia soared past 50C on its hottest day on record
‘They’re all time high temperatures for those locations,’ SA Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tom Bock told Daily Mail Australia.
‘They were more than likely the hottest places on Earth today. There’s been a build up of heat for a while in the north of the state, which has continued to build.’
Locals in Port Augusta claim the mercury soared past 50 degrees with a photo posted to social media platform Reddit recording 52 outside The Transcontinental at 1pm.
‘I’m dying up here,’ the post was captioned.
Oak Valley in the state’s west also reached almost 50 degrees, where children kept themselves cool by splashing themselves with buckets of water from a tank, Nine News reported.
Records were smashed on Tuesday with more records set to be broken in the coming days
Thousands will flock to Bondi Beach in the coming days as temperatures soar into the mid 30s
Mr Bock told Daily Mail Australia South Australia’s heatwave will continue this week before a welcome cool change this weekend.
January records were also broken in New South Wales.
While Broken Hill sweltered through its warmest night in 60 years with a minimum temperature of 33, Hay in the state’s Riverina was the hottest place in NSW on Tuesday with 47, followed by Ivanhoe in the state’s west with 46.8, its hottest ever day in January.
More records will be smashed in the next few days, according the NSW Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Jake Phillips.
‘Going to have to get a new thermometer this one only goes to 50c . Beer is cold though’ the Blinman Hotel in outback SA posted on Facebook
Many flocked to Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Tuesday with thousands more set to hit the iconic beach in the coming days to escape the searing heat
‘It’s going to get hotter right across NSW and will be 1-2 degrees warmer than anywhere in Australia,’ Mr Phillips told Daily Mail Australia.
‘A large part of the state will be above 40 degrees with many places in the state’s west set to soar past 45. We’re expecting a bunch of January and annual records to be broken from tomorrow through to Friday.’
Victoria is also middle of a scorching heatwave where Mildura and Swan Hill in the state’s north reached a high of of 45.8 on Tuesday.
Oak Valley in South Australia’s west exceeded 50 degrees. Children tried to keep cool by splashing themselves with water
Wednesday will be the worst of Victoria’s heatwave with Mildura, Swan Hill, Echuca, Albury and Rutherglen all set to soar past 46.
‘Parts of Victoria is at risk of breaking January and all time weather records on Wednesday,’ Victorian Bureau of Meteorology Michael Efron told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We’ll then see a bit more cloud cover but temperatures in some places will remain in the low to mid 40s.
Parts of Queensland’s west will also experiences severe heatwave conditions this week.
Even this thirsty koala found Australia’s heatwave too much to bear
Locals in the South Australian’s outback struggled to keep cool on Tuesday
South Australia’s heatwave sparked a bushfire warning in Tintinara on Tuesday
Birdsville will bear the brunt of the relentless heat, soaring to 46 degrees on Thursday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Lauren Patti said it was ‘ridiculously hot’ but it would fall short of Birdsville’s 49 degree January record.
Overnight temperatures hovering around 30 degrees have added to the heat stress.
‘It is normal for Birdsville to have hot temperatures but what is unusual is for it to be over an extended period of time normally we would not have minimums that high at the same time, so there is no relief,’ Ms Patti said.
Most of Queensland will escape the heatwave, with Brisbane expecting temperatures in the low 30s.
From SA and NSW to Queensland and Victoria, temperatures soared past 45 degrees
Tennis players felt the Melbourne heat playing at the Australian Open on Tuesday
Australian one day cricketers also felt the heat in Adelaide, which reached a high of 41