00:00It's hot, really hot in the capital today.
00:05As you say, it's the hottest temperature in six years today, 42 degrees.
00:10Now, that makes Canberra the hottest capital city in the country today,
00:15and that is just shy of our record highest temperature
00:18that was recorded back in January 2020, which was 44 degrees.
00:22So a really hot day.
00:24We've been travelling around Canberra today.
00:26We've certainly been seeing people getting out and exercising early this morning
00:30to avoid the heat of the day.
00:32We've been going around some of the swimming spots in Canberra.
00:35There hasn't been too many people around,
00:37certainly heeding that advice to stay inside.
00:39There's not much wind around today,
00:41so certainly that heat is really being felt right across the capital.
00:46We've been talking to authorities as well,
00:48and they're certainly concerned about some of the heat-related illness
00:51that can come from really hot temperatures like this,
00:54the ACT Ambulance Service say that they're expecting a surge in workload today
00:59and over the coming days,
01:01because this heatwave is still going to continue over the coming days.
01:04We've been experiencing it for a number of days.
01:06This is certainly the peak of the temperature,
01:08but it is going to continue for the next few days as well.
01:12The good news when it comes to this heatwave
01:14is that the fire danger hasn't really reached really extreme levels,
01:19which is really good news.
01:21The fire danger here in the territory today
01:24and surrounding areas is rated as high,
01:27but it hasn't reached those levels
01:28where a total fire ban has been required.
01:31So certainly that is some good news for fire authorities,
01:34but they're certainly ready to respond if any fires do start.
01:39So when will there be some reprieve for the capital, Monty?
01:42Well, as I said, Roz,
01:45we're expecting these hot temperatures,
01:48high 30s to continue over the next few days.
01:51There is a change coming through late on Sunday,
01:55which I'm sure many Canberrans are looking forward to.
01:57That will bring some cooler temperatures,
01:59but most importantly, it will bring some rain.
02:02It's been a really dry January here in Canberra,
02:05so a lot of people are looking forward
02:07to the possibility of some rain on Sunday.
02:09So hopefully that does happen.
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