Communities across large parts of Australia have been urged to take precautions as temperatures begin to soar ahead of severe and extreme heatwave conditions, with parts of western Sydney expected to reach the low 40s by Saturday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued heatwave warnings in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with an extreme warning in place on the NSW south coast – indicating the highest level of risk.
Temperatures were beginning to climb on Thursday and the heatwave in NSW was expected to peak on Friday and Saturday, with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s forecast for some areas.
The bureau issues a heatwave warning when both the maximum and minimum temperatures are forecast to be unusually hot for a period of three days or more.
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The bureau issued an extreme warning for the NSW south coast and severe heatwave warnings in the Hunter, metropolitan, Illawarra, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountains areas.
Places that were likely to be affected include the Sydney metropolitan area, Newcastle, Batemans Bay, Gosford, Camden, Mona Vale, Nowra, Richmond and Wollongong.
“Extreme means that it’s dangerous for everyone, even for healthy people, if you don’t take precautions,” senior meteorologist Christie Johnson said.
“We tend to find in terms of the health impacts the effect is cumulative, so it’s usually the third day is the most dangerous.”
Johnson said in areas where severe heatwave warnings were in place, vulnerable people, including elderly people, pregnant people, babies and children, and people with medical conditions, were most at risk.
She said by Saturday temperatures in western Sydney and parts of the Hunter were expected to reach the low 40s. Temperatures in inland NSW were also forecast to reach the 40s, however this part of the state did not have a heatwave warning in place because the temperature is considered more usual for the region.
“It’s really important to take precautions if you’re in one of those areas that has the severe or extreme heatwave warning,” Johnson said.
“Seeking a place where you can stay cool – whether that’s staying inside at home and using fans and air conditioners or heading to a shopping centre or community centre or library to stay cool.”
Johnson said people at home should keep their blinds down and windows closed from early in the day to keep heat out and use fans and air conditioners if they have them.
A cool change was forecast to begin in NSW late on Saturday and into Sunday morning.
In Western Australia, there was a severe heatwave warning in place for the Kimberley, Pilbara and north interior regions with temperatures forecast to range from the high 30s to the mid 40s with overnight minimum temperatures in the mid to high 20s. Johnson said those conditions were expected to remain for much of the next week.
The BoM has issued severe heatwave warnings for the Daly, Tiwi and Gregory regions of the NT, however the conditions on the Tiwi Islands were expected to ease by the weekend.
Temperatures in Alice Springs were forecast to reach 37C on Thursday and the low 40s on Friday and Saturday but there was no heatwave warning because the duration of unusual extremes for that area would not be three days.
Johnson said it was possible parts of Queensland, including the Gulf Country and North West regions, could also have warnings in place before the weekend.
Australia’s national annual average temperature is about 1.5C higher than in 1910, according to the BoM, and the climate crisis has increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
