SYDNEY, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total fire ban is in effect across the greater Sydney region on Saturday as unseasonably hot, dry and windy conditions push temperatures to as high as 33 degrees Celsius.
Temperatures reached the low-to-mid 30 degrees in almost all suburbs of Sydney on Saturday, while it heated beyond 33 degrees in some suburbs, including Penrith, according to forecaster Weatherzone.
At about 2:30 p.m. local time, the city of Sydney reached 32.1 degrees, its hottest day this early in the warming season on record, with temperature data going back to 1859. Previously, the earliest in spring it had become this warm was Sept. 13, in both 2017 and 2009.
Very dry conditions, strong winds and low humidity were combining to significantly increase the risk of fires, meteorologist Robert Urbaniak told The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
"There will be mean winds of up to 50 km an hour, together with wind gusts of up to 70 km an hour," Urbaniak said. "Combined with very low relative humidity, around 20 percent, that will basically drive the fire danger."
The Rural Fire Service in the state of New South Wales has said a total fire ban is in place on Saturday for the greater Sydney region with extreme fire danger forecast, urging residents, particularly those living near bushland, to prepare their homes and review their emergency survival plans.
Fire bans are issued by authorities when hot, dry and windy weather conditions dramatically increase the risks of fires breaking out. No fires are allowed out in the open. ■