Australia braces for intense heatwave warning as temperatures expected to reach low 40s

An extreme heatwave is sweeping across large parts of Australia, and people have been urged to take necessary precautions as temperatures begin to ascend due to severe heatwave conditions, with parts of western Sydney expected to reach the low 40s by Saturday.

Heatwave warnings have been issued specifically for New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

As reported by The Guardian, temperatures were mounting on Thursday and the heatwave in NSW was expected to peak on Friday and Saturday, with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s forecast for some areas.

The bureau has issued a warning for extremely swelter weather for the NSW south coast and severe heatwave warnings in the Hunter metropolitan, Illawarra, southern tablelands and Snowy Mountain areas.

On the contrary, places that were likely to be severely affected include the Sydney metropolitan area, Newcastle, Batemans Bay, Gosford, Camden, Mona Vale, Nowra, Richmond and Wollongong.

Senior meteorologist Christie Johnson said, “Extreme means that it’s dangerous for everyone, even for healthy people, if you don't take precautions.”

The areas where heatwave warnings have been issued were extremely dangerous for elderly people, pregnant people, babies and children, and people facing medical conditions.

Temperatures in inland NSW were also expected to reach the 40s; however, this part of the state did not have a heatwave warning issued because the temperature is considered more common for this specific region. 

Residents have been advised to take necessary precautions for those areas that have the severe extreme heatwave warning.

It has been observed that there was a heatwave warning in place for the Kimberley, Pilbara and north interior regions with temperatures forecast to range from the high 30s to the mid 40s with minimum temperatures in mid to high 20s.

It is expected that the same condition will continue for the coming week.

Temperatures in Alice Springs were predicted to reach 37C on Thursday and the low 40s on Friday and Saturday but there was no heatwave warning issued for the specific time duration.

In addition, warnings have been issued for possible parts of Queensland including the Gulf Country and Northwest regions before the weekend.