Australia swelters as temperatures near 50 degrees in record-breaking heatwave

Parts of Australia sweltered in record temperatures of close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday as the country sweated through a prolonged heatwave.

The rural towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup in Victoria state registered preliminary highs of 48.9 degrees, which if confirmed overnight would top records set on the day in 2009 when 173 people were killed in the state’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires.

No casualties were reported from Tuesday’s heatwave, but Victoria authorities urged caution as three forest fires burned out of control.

Melbourne, the state’s largest city, also came close to its hottest day. Nowhere perhaps was the searing heat more evident than at Melbourne Park, where the usual crowds thronging outside the Australian Open tennis tournament dwindled to a ghost town as temperatures soared.

Inside, organisers enacted extreme heat protocols, forcing closure of the retractable roofs over the main arenas and postponement of matches on the uncovered outer courts.

During Tuesday’s quarter-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Iva Jovic – the last match played under scorching sun – the players held ice packs to their heads and portable fans to their faces during breaks in play.

Photographers shooting the match were supplied with cushions by organisers to avoid heat-related injuries when they sat down and covered their cameras with towels to prevent the devices malfunctioning in the heat or burning their hands. Fans lined up to stand in front of giant misting fans or sought shelter in air-conditioned areas of the venue.