Australians battle extreme heatwave for the first weekend of 2025, firefighters face ‘challenging conditions’

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A weekend hot spell has brought sweltering conditions and high fire danger to almost every state and territory, sending many to the beach to catch a bit of relief. But with hotter weather ahead and the potential for dry lightning to some areas, authorities are urging people to keep cool and stay vigilant.

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00:00From northern New South Wales to South Australia's sandy shores, even Tasmania hasn't avoided

00:09the warmer weather, people doing everything they can to keep cool.

00:12Did the pool help you keep nice and cool today? Yeah, but I can't swim, I sink underwater.

00:20At summer nights in Canberra and the cricket in Sydney, crowds sought out the shade.

00:24It is very warm, so that's why we're leaving early.

00:28But it was a ghost town in Mildura, in Victoria's far north-west, where temperatures pushed

00:32past 40 degrees. Crowds flocked to Victorian beaches. At Safety Beach, a boat and jet ski

00:38crash left two teens in hospital. Australia has only just sweltered through

00:44its hottest spring on record, and third hottest December, but the first heatwave of 2025 hasn't

00:50broken any records yet. What's more remarkable about this heat though,

00:55rather than how high the temperatures will get, is really just how long they'll stick around.

01:00Fire authorities across several states have been on edge today, and with little reprieve

01:05expected tonight, and even hotter temperatures forecast tomorrow, they're warning of extreme

01:09danger and total fire bans in several areas. The fact that we haven't seen rainfall in

01:15any substantial way across most of Victoria for quite some time now, that it doesn't take

01:20much for the bushland to burn. In the New South Wales Hunter region, firefighters

01:25are still grappling with remote fires started by dry lightning, with a chance of more tomorrow.

01:30We are heading into more challenging conditions in the next two days, but we see some good

01:36opportunities on the other side. In a land of extremes, everyone finds their

01:39own way to handle the heat. I'll go for a swim and get naked.

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