Heatwave weather warning: Temperatures soar above 40C from WA to NSW as summer heat intensifies

Blistering summer heat is tightening its grip on Australia, with scorching temperatures spreading across multiple states.

Southern states are enduring a short but fierce burst of heat, sending the mercury more than 10 degrees above average and pushing fire danger to extreme levels. In the country’s north, the punishing weather is set to linger through next week, with daily highs locked above 40C.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the current conditions mark only the beginning of what’s shaping up to be one of Australia’s hottest summers on record. A surge of hot north-westerly winds will drive temperatures above 40C from inland WA to eastern New South Wales on Friday and Saturday.

Heatwave travels across Australia

The heat began the week along the west coast, giving Perth its hottest start to summer on record with a 39C high on Monday. By Thursday, north-westerly winds had carried the hot air across the south-east, with Adelaide and Melbourne both reaching 35C, which is their warmest days since March.

While cooler onshore winds have now eased conditions along the southern coastline, temperatures across the interior and NSW will climb again on Friday.

Maximums are tipped to reach the low to mid 40s across the outback, from the Pilbara and Kimberley through to western NSW, with forecast highs of 45C in Fitzroy Crossing, 44C at Oodnadatta and 42C at Ivanhoe.

The most extreme heat relative to average will hit eastern NSW, with Western Sydney expected to reach near 40C. Closer to the coast, a cooler north-easterly breeze off the Tasman Sea should cap temperatures in the mid-30s.

Fire danger will be at its highest in the Riverina and Mallee, where top temperatures between 38C and 41C will combine with winds up to 45km/h and humidity near 10 per cent.

NSW heatwave

On Saturday, strengthening northerly winds will push the hottest air further north and east, bringing extreme fire danger from the state’s north-west through parts of the central inland, Hunter, Sydney and Illawarra/Shoalhaven.

In Sydney, the zone of 40C heat will expand to within 20 kilometres of the coast, while outer western suburbs hit 41C — up to 12C above average.

Penrith could post its first consecutive 40C days since 2023, while Sydney city may record back-to-back days above 35C for the first time in five years. Much of the Hunter, Illawarra and Central West will also edge towards 40C, and the north-west towns of Bourke and Brewarrina are expected to top 43C.

While the outback will see the most extreme temperatures, a severe heatwave warning is now in effect for coastal NSW, stretching from the Hunter to the South Coast and Snowy Mountains.

The BOM has classified the coastal heatwave as “severe”, a rating that flags “challenging conditions for vulnerable people if precautions are not taken to keep cool”.

Southerly relief for Sydney and NSW

Sydney can expect a temperature drop of about 15C within 24 hours, as a strong southerly change sweeps up the NSW coast late Saturday into Sunday.

It should hit the South Coast on Saturday evening, Sydney in the early hours of Sunday, and the Mid North Coast by Sunday afternoon.

Further north, relief will be slower to arrive. With only isolated showers and thunderstorms forecast, much of northern WA and north-west Queensland will remain locked in highs above 40C well into next week.

Looking ahead, the BOM warns another surge of hot northern winds could hit the southern states late next week, a pattern that may repeat throughout summer.

Modelling released on Thursday shows maximum temperatures are likely to sit 1C to 2C above the long-term average across most of Australia, putting this summer among the five hottest on record since 1910.