Summer is still five weeks away, but Sydney is already heating up with western suburbs bearing the brunt of high temperatures on Saturday.
Even strong wings weren’t enough to put people off as they found ways to cool down across the city.
Parramatta was one of the western suburbs shrouded in the heat haze, along with Penrith.
Sydney’s coastline became a magnet for those wanting to cool off, with many beaches becoming crowded.
Temperatures rose to 33 degrees in Penrith, but as summer approaches there are predictions the heat will reach 50 degrees Celsius.
A total fire ban is in place across New South Wales as hot dry gusts bring ‘extreme’ risk levels to the greater Sydney region and other parts of the state.
NSW Rural Fire Service said they expected “hot, dry and windy conditions” throughout the day as they put much of the state on notice.
In Queensland, several small fires are burning around the Gladstone and Bundaberg region as temperatures in the sunshine state sit in the low-mid 30s.
Bushfire emergency warnings in Queensland were downgraded overnight.
Residents were forced to leave their homes yesterday as firefighters tackled a blaze in Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast.
People have been allowed to return to their homes with warnings sitting at advice level.
In NSW, the total fire ban is in effect for the Hunter region.
It also includes many country towns heading right up to the border with Queensland.
In NSW the temperature will bring a high of 31 degrees in Penrith, west of the Sydney CBD.
It will also bring a top of 31 degrees for Parramatta and Liverpool.
Forecasts predict a top of 30 degrees in the city, and 27 degrees on Bondi Beach.
A trough moving east will bring sustained wind speeds of 30km/h.
That westerly wind could gust upwards of 50km/h and create real headaches for firefighters.
Thousands will flock to beaches all over Australia’s coast today to escape the stifling heat.
In the Northern Territory, a severe heatwave risk is in place around the Darwin area.
Fresh and gusty southeasterly winds combined with hot and dry conditions will cause elevated fire dangers through central parts of the Northern Territory.
