Australia's southeast on Sunday sweltered in a heat wave that raised the risk of bushfires and prompted authorities to issue fire bans for large swaths of New South Wales state.
The nation's weather forecaster said temperatures would be up to 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in some areas, with Sydney, capital of Australia's most populous state New South Wales, set to hit 36C (96.8F).
At Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, the temperature was already 28C (82.4F) at 10 a.m. (2300 GMT), more than five degrees above the September mean maximum temperature, according to forecaster data.
Australia faces a high-risk bushfire season as it experiences an El Nino weather event, recently announced, which is typically associated with extreme events like wildfires, cyclones and droughts.
State Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said the "scorching" heat lifted the risk for bushfires in the week ahead.
"Not only is it hot, it's dry and it's windy and those conditions combined are the perfect storm," Dib said, announcing the start an official bushfire danger period.
Fire authorities on Sunday issued nine fire total bans for parts of the state in a bid to reduce the chance of bushfires.
Australia's last two fire seasons have been quiet compared to the catastrophic 2019-2020 "Black Summer" of bushfires that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Cauvery Water Dispute: Is There A Solution In Sight?
India, Indonesia, Australia Resolve To Work Towards Free Indo-Pacific "He Won't Be There In Pakistan": Australia Chief Selector On David Warner In Champions Trophy Australia Announce Squads For White-Ball Series Against Scotland, England Under-Fire Trainee IAS Officer Accuses Pune Collector Of Harassment Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Recalled To Academy, Training Put On Hold "No Defamatory Remarks Against Governor": High Court To Mamata Banerjee Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Launched In India; Prices Start At Rs. 2.39 Lakh Admission Deadline Extended For EWS And Special Needs Children UGC Launches Project To Develop 22,000 Books In Indian Languages Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.