Large swathes of eastern Australia sweated through temperatures up to 40 degrees today, with extreme conditions forecast to last into the weekend.
Queensland is battling through its first heatwave of the season, while a total fire ban was in force in Sydney yesterday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned south-east Queensland and northern NSW could be hit by severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and damaging winds this evening.
Severe thunderstorms could hit the NSW Northern Rivers this evening, with Byron Bay and surrounds told to expect hail and potential flash-flooding.
Parts of Queensland were scorched by the heatwave, with Mount Isa peaking at 40.8 degrees at 3pm.
Rockhampton also hit 38 degrees, with most of the state above 30 degrees. Brisbane hit 30 today, while the Gold Coast saw a high of 28.3 degrees.
Earlier, the bureau updated its heatwave warning for the state, with the extreme conditions forecast to continue into at least Sunday.
Temperatures are expected to ease for south-eastern regions but for inland areas, the searing heat will continue into next week.
Meanwhile, the combination of forecast temperatures above 30 degrees and gusty westerly winds triggered a total fire ban for the Greater Sydney region.
Firefighters were called to a grassfire at Sydney Airport about midday started by an engine failure from a Qantas flight.
The hot conditions for Sydney are forecast to ease tonight when a cool change begins. Temperatures in the city tomorrow will plummet to 21 degrees.
