Australia is melting under hot and dry conditions, with every state on high alert for soaring heat creating dangerous conditions — except for rainy and flood-ridden Queensland — as the authorities issue heatwave warnings.
In NSW, the mercury will tip to a whopping 43C on Saturday, with an extreme heatwave warning for the metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes and Riverina areas.
“Hot weather can directly cause severe illness requiring hospital admission and can result in death,” a NSW Health spokesman said.
From 7 January to 8 January 2026, 33 people presented for heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke, sunstroke, heat exhaustion with eight patients being admitted to hospital.
In Victoria, while heat conditions have slightly eased, it will remain hot with a high 27C and extreme heatwave warnings have been issued for northern country, North East, East Gippsland, West and South Gippsland and North Central areas.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds in the Gippsland districts has also been issued.
There are also three emergency-level fires across the state, two in central Victoria in Longwood and Ravenswood South, and one in Walwa in the northeast at the NSW border.
This covers 18 local government areas and one alpine resort after a state of disaster was declared by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen overnight.
It is understood three people, including a child, are unaccounted for a bushfire in Victoria’s Longwood East.
Emergency Services Minister Kristy McBain has warned Victorians to make sure they have their bushfire fire ready plans.
“Make decisions early about whether they’re staying or leaving – communicate that with family and friends and make sure that they are prepared, particularly with a wireless and batteries if we lose mains electricity, so that you can still get updates,” she urged people this morning on ABC news channel.
Perth will also battle the heat with a maximum temperature of 32C and mostly sunny conditions. A severe heatwave warning has been issued for the Gascoyne, North Interior and South Interior areas.
In South Australia, temperatures will sit at cooler level with a max of 24C today and cloudy weather. Despite the cool conditions a severe heatwave warning has been placed for areas including Adelaide metropolitan, upper south east, lower south east, Riverland, Murraylands, Mid North, Flinders, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, north west Pastoral, north east Pastoral and Mount Lofty Ranges.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued more fire warnings in Tasmania in the Furneaux Islands and the east coast part of the states. The state will hit a maximum temperature of 21C, with a severe heatwave warning in the Furneaux Islands, north east, east coast and central north.
In the Australian Capital Territory, “very hot, dry and windy conditions will lead to extreme fire danger” the Bureau said on Saturday. Hot temperatures will soar to 37C with severe weather warning for damaging winds in parts of the state.
A severe heatwave warning has been placed in the Northern Territory for Gregory, Barkly, Simpson, Lasseter and Tanami with the highest temperature today sitting at 32C.
Tropical low with ‘high’ chance of becoming cyclone coming to north Queensland
Meanwhile in north Queensland, residents are preparing for severe weather as a tropical low holds a high chance of developing into a category one cyclone.
As the tropical low approaches the northeast tropical coast, it will bring heavy to locally intense rainfall and damaging winds from later today between Cairns and Townsville.
It will remain hot today in Queensland despite multiple major and minor flood warnings across the state, with a high of 31C.
