Temperatures soar with heatwave to hit Melbourne and western Sydney as fire bans declared

The sun rises over Ben Buckler Point in North Bondi. Extreme heat is forecast to sweep across Australia over the coming days. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Much of Australia will bake under intense heatwave conditions over the coming days, with multiple regions set to record temperatures above 40C.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued heatwave warnings for large parts of northern, eastern and central Australia, covering every state and territory except Western Australia and Tasmania.