A heatwave hit Australia on Sunday, with authorities warning of an increased risk of bushfires during the fire season.
Forecasters have issued a heat warning for Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Temperatures in some parts of the country could exceed 40 degrees Celsius, with the risk of fires labelled “extreme”, according to the nation’s weather forecaster.
The maximum temperature in the west of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was 39 degrees Celsius, almost 10 degrees above the February average.
In parts of Victoria and South Australia, hot and dry conditions combined with gusty winds prompted forecasters to issue warnings of “extreme fire danger.”
An El Niño is a climate pattern in which unusually warm Pacific Ocean temperatures are associated with phenomena such as cyclones, droughts, wildfires and heat waves.
