Temperatures are forecast to hit 38C in Melbourne, 35C in western Sydney and as high as 45C in Western Australia’s Pilbara region as parts of the country remain under severe heatwave warnings.
The Bureau of Meteorology said very warm conditions were extending across southern parts of the country, with low-level heatwaves expected to settle in over large parts of Australia from Thursday afternoon before lingering until next week.
The remote Pilbara town of Roebourne was tipped to hit in the mid to high 40s on Friday, with the BoM initially predicting 47C before revising it down to 45C.
Melbourne was expected to reach a sweltering 35C degrees on Friday, while inner Sydney was forecast to linger in the high 20s and early 30s over the weekend. Penrith, in western Sydney, was forecast to reach 35C on Friday and 38C on Saturday.
“Maximum temperatures are soaring into the mid to high 30s around coastal parts, pushing into the high 30s to low 40s inland,” a BoM senior meteorologist, Miriam Bradbury, said on Thursday.
“We are seeing the low intensity heatwave conditions settling in [at] South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and parts of New South Wales.”
From Friday and into the weekend, the conditions were expected to extend across the NSW coast and push into southern Queensland, with “severe intensity heatwave conditions” developing in isolated pockets.
“These are initially going to be around north-eastern Tasmania, parts of southern Victoria and south-eastern NSW tomorrow before pushing a little bit further up the NSW coast on Saturday,” Bradbury said.
“It is the severe intensity heatwave conditions that are triggering the heatwave warning across the states.”
A severe heatwave warning was in place for the NSW south coast, including Batemans Bay, bringing particular health risks to older and vulnerable people.
Maximum temperatures in the low to mid 30s were forecast for the state’s south-east, expected to slowly ease by the end of the week.
In South Australia, a severe warning remained active in the north-west pastoral region including APY lands, expected to persist “well into” next week.
Maximum temperatures in the low 40s with minimum temperatures in the low to mid 20s were forecast for the state’s north-west.
After a prolonged period of hot, dry weather, WA’s Kimberley, Pilbara and northern and southern interior districts remained under a severe heatwave warning forecast to linger for days.
As the mercury rose in Roebourne, the town’s prison recorded temperatures of up to 50C, with many prisoners coping without air-conditioned cells.
The WA government faced criticism from prison inspectors and human rights advocates for years but has committed $10m to expand the air conditioning to all cells, with the project expected to be completed in the 2023-24 financial year.
The WA Department of justice said the prison mitigated the risks of the extreme heat by ensuring that inmates with medical conditions have air-conditioned cells.
Large parts of the state were expected to be hit with maximum temperatures in the low to mid 40s into next week, with isolated areas of extreme heatwave conditions possible over western inland parts of the Kimberley and areas including Karratha, Port Hedland and Warburton.
“Western Australia is continuing to see very hot conditions inland mostly through the central and northern part,” Bradbury said.
“Large areas of severe intensity heatwave conditions have been ongoing for a number of days with heatwave warnings continuing over the past week and likely to continue well into next week as well.
“Pockets of extreme intensity heatwave are expected across some parts of the Kimberley and Pilbara as we go across the weekend. This means maximum temperatures in the mid-40s in some parts of the western Pilbara, even reaching the high 40s later in the weekend.”
South-east Queensland is expected to remain in the low 40s with, overnight temperatures up to the high 20s, while maximum temperatures in the mid 20s to low 30s were expected in Tasmania, with overnight temperatures dropping to the mid-teens.
Heatwaves cause more deaths and illnesses than any other weather events across Australia.
“Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people, especially older people, babies, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell,” the BoM warned.
“Seek a place to keep cool … close your windows and draw blinds, curtains or awnings early in the day. If available, use fans or air conditioners to keep cool.”
