Australia, get ready to sweat your way through the weekend as extreme heatwave sets in

Australia is set to swelter through the weekend, with extreme heat warnings in place as temperatures pass 40C across the country. But when will we get some relief?

Australia will experience a sweltering close to the year, with temperatures soaring above 40C throughout the nation over the coming days.

The post-Christmas heatwave shows no signs of easing, with warnings in place across parts of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

If the heat’s getting you down, we have some bad news: the relief could be more than a week away.

“We’re in the middle of a heatwave at the moment in much of Australia,” Sky News’ Chief Meteorologist Tom Saunders told news.com.au. “Today is day five of the heatwave and there’s no sign of a cool change before New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Day will be day nine of that heatwave.

“We won’t see a cool change until the middle of next week — it could be after that or another full week.”

Severe to extreme heat conditions are expected to extend through South Australia, as well as southeast NSW, eastern Victoria and parts of central Queensland.

Up to 70 per cent of NSW will experience high fire dangers, from the southern half of the state up to the Queensland border.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also issued strong wind warnings from the Batemans Coast up to the Macquarie region over the next two days.

#Heatwave conditions are being experienced across large parts of the country. Temperatures peaked at 49.1°C at Marble Bar (WA). Heatwave conditions occur when both maximum and minimum temperatures remain well above average for the time of year https://t.co/qCG9wWrJ8U pic.twitter.com/rRC7mGZn8h

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 27, 2018

Sydneysiders may as well camp out on the beach over the next few days, with tops of 30C today, 31C on Saturday and 34C on Sunday.

The city’s Greater Western region is in for an even more brutal time, with tops of 42C in Penrith tomorrow and 41C on Sunday.

NSW Health issued an air quality warning for Sydney yesterday, as ozone levels began rising with the heat.

Adelaide is in for a scorcher today, with tops of 39C and extreme fire dangers in place, particularly in the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Crowds have been out in full force at Bondi Beach this week. And with good reason.

Brisbane will see tops of 30C over the weekend, with very little chance of rain — which means it’s the ideal time to head to the water.

Perth will enjoy similar sunny days, with tops of 26C today, 28C on Saturday and 30C on Sunday.

Melbourne and Hobart will be in for a cooler weekend at least, with tops of 25C and 23C in Melbourne and 24C and 23C in Hobart over the weekend, and scattered showers in both capitals.

Darwin will stay in the low 30s over the weekend, with a high chance of storms throughout.

But if you think all of that sounds bad, spare a kind thought for the people of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where the mercury hit 49.1C just after noon yesterday.

Marble Bar tipped over 48C yesterday.

The small community, known as Australia’s hottest town, will experience sweltering highs of up to 45C for the rest of the week.

Whyalla and Port Augusta in South Australia’s mid-north also suffered with highs of almost 47C yesterday.

According to the Bureau, the heat won’t be going anywhere in a hurry, with low to severe heatwaves predicted up until next Tuesday.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said people will need to be vigilant about fire risks over the next few days, warning that strong winds would amplify the heat.

“While we haven’t got total fire bans in place, this hot air mass is having a baking effect on the landscape that is rapidly drying out and curing the vegetation, which makes the vegetation susceptible to rapid fire spread,” he told Today this morning. “We don’t need to wait for severe, extreme or catastrophic fire conditions to have a fire risk. The fire risk is very real and that’s why it is very high in such large geographic areas.”

He said the hot air currently over South Australia will continue to move east and begin dominating parts of regional NSW over the coming days.

Fire warnings have also been issued for Greater Victoria, with moderate to fresh north-westerly winds reaching “severe” in the Mallee and Wimmera districts.