Mini-heatwave hits Sydney with temperatures to reach up to 47.3C
TALK about a scorcher! Sydney has sweltered through a serious heatwave, with temperatures reaching 47.3C and breaking records across the state.
NSW
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TALK about a scorcher!
Penrith smashed the record books, recording 47.3 degrees at 3.25pm.
The Bureau of Meteorology earlier claimed this was the all-time record for Sydney, but later uncovered a recording from a now closed station from 79 years ago that was half a degree hotter.
#SydneyHeat: Sorry, in our earlier checks we missed a 47.8 degrees C temperature recorded at an old #Richmond station (now closed) in 1939. 47.3 today still beats the previous #Penrith record.
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) January 7, 2018
The mercury this afternoon also reached higher than 40 in Richmond, Gosford, Campbelltown, Camden and Canterbury.
NSW residents enduring the oven-like temperatures and been warned of a rise in ozone pollution and fire dangers.
A severe fire danger rating has been issued for the greater Sydney region while much of the rest of the state has a “very high” rating.
Total fire bans are in place for Sydney and the Hunter Region. The NSW Rural Fire Service warned residents to prepare their bushfire plans. If people are considering leaving their homes they should “leave early”, the RFS said.
Temperatures hit 43.4 degrees Celsius at Sydney’s Observatory Hill just after 1pm.
The Bureau of Meteorology said cooler conditions were expected to reach coastal areas during the afternoon and Sydney’s west in the evening.
NSW Health warned people to drink plenty of water and limit their time outdoors because of a rise in ozone pollution as a result of the hot, still weather.
Sydney was forecast to have poor air quality on Sunday which can especially affect people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Ozone levels are higher outdoors than indoors, so limiting time outside during the heat of the day and in the evening would help people to keep cool and to limit their exposure to ozone pollution,” Environmental health director Dr Ben Scalley said in a statement on Saturday.
Dr Scalley also warned of the dangers of a heatwave which put strain on the body, can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Power outages have also been reported in Cherrybrook, Artarmon, Woy Woy, West Gosford, Newport, Bilgola Plateau and San Souci.
A truck carrying half a dozen cars also caught fire on Sydney’s M5 motorway, closing all westbound lanes as authorities work to contain the blaze.
The truck fire started at around 2.30pm, according to police, who said westbound lanes were closed on the major motorway.
Footage of the incident uploaded to social media shows the motorway covered in smoke as firefighters hose down the truck and its trailer, which is filled with several burning cars.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn on Saturday revealed the state’s heatwave plan had been activated to ensure a co-ordinated response from emergency services.
“We know over the next two or three days we’re going to experience severe to extreme heat conditions throughout NSW,” she said before reminding people it was an offence to leave children or pets in vehicles.
“Cars become a furnace very, very quickly in this type of heat.” Surf Life Saving NSW has implored people heading to the beach to take care given there have been 10 drownings since the beginning of December.
Surf Life Saving NSW has implored people heading to the beach to take care given there have been 10 drownings since the beginning of December. A 48-year-old is fighting for his life after he was found face down in the water at Sandon Point Beach on Saturday.
In a separate incident, a 35-year-old man was taken to hospital in a stable condition after being pulled semiconscious from the Hawkesbury River at Lower Portland.
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