Australia has hottest day on record as massive bush fires rage on

Average nationwide temperatures hit 40.9 degrees Celsius earlier this week, with record spot temperatures recorded in the country’s west

Hundreds of bush fires have been raging across Australia for months, including a ‘mega-blaze’ burning north of Sydney, the biggest city

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People watch the sunrise at Bronte Beach Pool in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Published: 5:10pm, 18 Dec 2019Updated: 5:35pm, 18 Dec 2019

Australia this week experienced its hottest day on record and the heatwave is expected to worsen, exacerbating an already unprecedented bush fire season, authorities said on Wednesday.

The average nationwide temperatures of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday beat the previous record of 40.3 degrees Celsius in January 2013, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“This heat will only intensify further today,” meteorologist Diana Eadie Said.

The heatwave is another alarm bell about global warming in Australia, where this year’s early and intense start to regular summer bush fires has heaped pressure on the Australian government to do more to tackle climate change.

A firefighter watches a blaze near the town of Kulnura, New South Wales on December 12. Photo: Bloomberg

Hundreds of bush fires have been raging across Australia for months, including a “mega-blaze” burning north of Sydney, the country’s biggest city.