Prepare for a scorching summer! Perth braces for record 40C heatwave while Melbourne hits 39C and South Australia reaches FIFTY degrees as Sydney suffocates under more smoke haze next week when fires rage on
- Perth has had its second day in a row over 40C for only the third time since 1974
- Sweltering temperatures of 39C are also forecast for Melbourne by next week
- Climate models saying temperatures in South Australia will hit 50C at same time
- Sydneysiders will see high temperatures shrouded by continuing smoke haze
- Forecasters said spiked thermostat could fan the bushfires burning near Sydney
Western Australia is sweltering through a record-breaking heatwave which looks set to blanket the rest of the country next week.
Perth recorded its second day in a row above 40C on Saturday – only the third time that has happened in December since 1974.
Searing temperatures are forecast for Melbourne by next Wednesday – as the mercury hits 39C and the city sweats under what meteorologists have described as a ‘dome of heat parked over southern Australia’.
Beach weather will be the standard across Australia next week as Perth’s record-breaking December heatwave spreads across Australia (pictured a reveller at Melbourne’s St Kilda beach)
Some climate models are also predicting the thermostat in South Australia – which is at the heart of a low pressure system hovering over the country – will hit 50C on Thursday (pictured Australian temperatures on December 13)
Some climate models are also predicting the thermostat in South Australia – which is at the heart of a low pressure system hovering over the country – will hit 50C on Thursday.
Sydneysiders too will see temperature levels hit nearly 40C, but will first battle through the thick smoke haze which has plagued the city for much of the past month.
The low pressure trough building over western parts of Australia could also further fuel fires burning in New South Wales, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The heat is building inland and slowly moving eastwards, causing an elevated fire danger,’ she said.
‘We don’t know exactly when that trough will arrive but it will bring an increase in westerly winds to fire grounds.’
‘Were not seeing any significant rainfall – temperatures are increasing and causing elevated fire danger – so with that it’s more than likely ther fires will be putting temperatures.’
Searing temperatures are forecast for Melbourne (beachgoers pictured at St Kilda beach) by next Wednesday – as the mercury hits 39C
Sydneysiders will first battle through the thick smoke haze which has plagued the city for before seeing temperature levels hit nearly 40C (pedestrian pictured in a smoke mask on Tuesday in Sydney)
A smoke haze over the Sydney Harbour made the Opera House barely visible on December 10
A tourist wearing a mask takes a photo under the Sydney Harbour Bridge enveloped in a toxic haze on Tuesday
The thick smog – which left parts of Sydney with the worst air quality in the world on Tuesday – is being blown over the city by more than 100 fires burning across New South Wales.
Weatherzone has said temperatures are currently forecast to reach 45 degrees in every mainland state and territory except the ACT next week.
‘Some places will also see December heat records broken, with Australia’s December record of 49.5 degrees a chance of being exceeded,’ the forecaster said.
Two women (pictured) enjoy scorching temperatures at Henley Beach in Adelaide – temperatures in South Australia could hit 50C next week according to some climate models
A bushfire is pictured burning outside the Perth Cricket Stadium in Perth on December 13 -where Australia is facing Pakistan
A warning was displayed on the main screen at Optus Stadium on Saturday as temperature levels reached 40C during a record-breaking week for Perth weather
The BoM’s Victorian branch predicts temperatures above 45 degrees could be registered in Melbourne from Wednesday onwards.
The Bureau of Meteorology said Perth has now posted 10 days above 35C this month, with the most, 13, recorded in 1931.
Cooler weather is expected to move across WA’s southwest from Sunday, eventually dropping maximum temperatures into the high 20s.