Sydney bakes in hottest day in three years as bushfire risk grows in parts of Australia
SYDNEY: A heatwave scorched Australia's eastern coast and sent temperatures in Sydney to a three-year high on Saturday (Dec 9) as firefighters battled runaway bushfires.
Sydney city centre's Observatory Hill weather station reached 40 degrees Celsius in the afternoon - the hottest since November 2020 and almost 15 degrees above the average December high for the city.
In Richmond on Sydney's far western fringes, the thermometer crept up to 43.8 degrees Celsius.
"Today, with the high heat levels, I do say that it's a time to ensure that we look after each other and stay safe," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference.
"Climate change is a threat to people's health as well as to our environment and we need to acknowledge there's a need for a comprehensive response."
The heat heightens the risk of bushfires in an already high-risk fire season during Australia's December-February summer due to an El Nino weather event, typically associated with extremes such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts.
More than 70 bushfires and grassfires burned across New South Wales, with over a dozen out of control in the late afternoon, the state's rural fire service said.
"With very hot, dry and windy conditions, and total fire bans in place, know your risk and what you will do if threatened by fire," the fire service said in a message on social media.
New South Wales fire authorities said on social media platform X that a fire ban was in place for large swaths of the state, including Sydney, given "very hot, dry and windy conditions" brought by warm northwesterly winds.
Authorities are concerned about a return of dangerous fire conditions this summer after Australia's last two fire seasons were quiet compared with the 2019-2020 "Black Summer" that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.
"TAKE BREAKS FROM DANCING"
The number of calls for ambulances rose by about 20 per cent compared to a normal day, New South Wales Ambulance chief superintendent Mark Gibbs told a news conference.
"Follow up on elderly relatives. Check in on your neighbours. Ensure that people are rehydrating," Gibbs said.
"Monitor people for signs of dehydration or effects from the heat - and that may be a decreased level of consciousness, vomiting, lethargy, feeling fatigued, potentially muscle twitching."
State health authorities called on people attending music festivals to protect themselves, with thousands expected at an event in western Sydney's Olympic Park.
"Make sure you take breaks from dancing, seek shade when you can, drink water regularly, wear sun protection," NSW Health said in a statement.
"Make use of festival-provided shade, water stations and misting fans."
After several wet years, experts are expecting Australia's summer to bring the most intense bushfire season since the 2019-2020 disaster.
During that "Black Summer", bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard, razing swathes of forest, killing millions of animals and blanketing cities in noxious smoke.
Australia's weather bureau confirmed in September that an El Nino weather pattern is underway, bringing hotter and drier conditions to the country.
Australia is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of gas and coal, two key fossil fuels that are blamed for global heating.
Under Albanese's centre-left government, the country has vowed to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent before 2030 when compared to 2005 levels.