SYDNEY, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Low to severe heatwave conditions are seen to grip southern, eastern and western Australia on Friday, which may extend into the weekend, said the weather bureau.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) noted in a statement that heatwave warnings are currently in place for much of Western Australia (WA), parts of South Australia (SA) and New South Wales (NSW), along with a fire weather warning issued for Victoria.
Temperatures are expected to remain 6-12 degrees centigrade above average, climbing into the high 30 degrees and low 40 degrees and not dropping below 20 degrees overnight.
The bureau later confirmed that the temperature in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, reached 40.5-celsius degrees at 3:47 p.m. local time, which marked the city's hottest and also the first over 40-degree day since Jan. 31, 2020.
Meanwhile, northern and eastern NSW, northern SA, and southern Queensland will remain largely unaffected by this cool change. Low to severe-intensity heatwave conditions will continue into the weekend and early next week.
In WA, a heatwave warning is current for much of the inland areas of the state. The BOM said that WA is facing high to extreme fire dangers, with fire weather warnings expected to be issued.
The bureau estimated maximum temperatures to remain in the low-to-mid 40 degrees until early next week in inland and northern WA, with localized and remote areas possibly reaching 45-48 degrees.
The state's peak coastal safety and rescue body Surf Life Saving Western Australia also recommended locals take necessary sun protection measures, as the UV Index was predicted to reach 11, which means extreme risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure. ■