Australia news live: NSW set to swelter again as Victoria gets heatwave reprieve | Australia news
Key events
Australia swelters through heatwave
Parts of NSW are forecast to reach the low 40s as several fires continue to burn across the state.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting Sydney to reach 32 degrees Celsius on Sunday, while Penrith in the west is tipped to hit 40C and Richmond and Blacktown should reach 39C.
Parts of the lower and upper western regions are also forecast to hit 42C. It comes after NSW sweltered through a hot Saturday, with more than 50 fires breaking out across the state.
A Watch and Act message was in place for the southeastern town of Berridale on Saturday night, with residents told to take action to protect themselves and their properties.
A fire at Craigs Road in the southern tablelands scorched more than 3689 hectares and destroyed property and livestock, while the Sandy Creek fire in the Upper Hunter burned through 26ha.
Meanwhile, Victoria is in for a cooler day after temperatures reached the high 30s and low 40s on Saturday.
Residents along the Great Ocean Road in the state’s southwest were on high alert for much of the day, with a Watch and Act message in place for a blaze near Kenneth River.
Several other fires reached advice level before a cool change passed through the state on Saturday evening. Victorian temperatures should hover about the low to mid-20s for the rest of the week.
– AAP
Endless heat wave in Australia with records broken every day.
4 more monthly records today fell (2 of highest min. and 2 of highest max.) with the highest in the country today being 43.4C at Telfer.
Tomorrow and day after tomorrow temperatures will be similar with some more 43C. pic.twitter.com/9XMSGeLkVQ— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) March 18, 2023
Good morning
And welcome to another Guardian live blog.
A heatwave extending right across the country is expected to peak on Sunday with temperatures forecast to peak in the low 40s across parts of New South Wales. Sydney is expected to reach 32C with parts of western Sydney approaching 42C, while Victoria can expect a cooler day after temperatures hit the high 30s on Saturday. Across a large stretch of the rest of the country, temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s are expected.
The NSW Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet will hold a rally in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith on Sunday in an effort to shore up votes in the marginal seat. Former prime minister John Howard is expected to attend the event being held six days out from voting day, with the seat currently held by Stuart Ayres who holds its with a 0.6% margin.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started …
