Extreme fire danger for Sydney as temperatures soar to mid-40s

Sydney is on high alert and facing extreme fire danger on Saturday, with temperatures set to soar into the high-30s and mid-40s in most of the state.

The NSW Rural Fire Service issued extreme fire warnings for the Greater Sydney region, Central West and northern Riverina, as 42 fires burned across the state with 20 blazes not controlled as of 4pm on Friday.

Sydneysiders will be seeking relief in the water from the heatwave on Saturday.Credit: Dean Sewell

NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Ben Shepherd said Saturday was going to be incredibly hot.

He added that rainfall seen in parts of the state recently had prompted strong grass growth, which after a few hot and dry days would begin to dry out and be prime for ignition.

The dangerous fire conditions would continue for weeks to come, he said.

Temperatures are expected to hit 35 degrees in the city, while Penrith is likely to record 44 degrees, Parramatta will see 42 and Bondi will swelter through 36 degrees on Saturday.

Health authorities have urged people to be careful heading into the weekend, with several festivals due to take place.

Dr Darren Roberts, medical director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, said that without the right precautions people could put their health at risk.

“Overheating during activities in dangerous heat is a huge risk, and people need to take a break from dancing, seek shade, drink water and cool down to reduce the risk at festivals,” Roberts said.

“Festivals will have special measures in place this weekend, including chilled water and misting fans to help keep people cool. Everyone attending should make use of these measures.”

Roberts said hot environments can increase the risk of harm from some drugs.

Meanwhile, people hoping to escape to the water to beat the heat at the City of Sydney’s public pools on Saturday should be warned – a planned open day to celebrate the start of summer means entry is free, most likely bringing huge crowds.

Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre in Zetland, Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool in The Domain, Prince Alfred Park Pool in Surry Hills, Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre in Ultimo, Victoria Park Pool in Camperdown and the Cook + Phillip Park Pool in the city will all throw open their doors without charge from 8am to 3pm.

Free fitness classes will also be on offer. However, NSW Health advice is to limit physical activity to the cooler parts of the morning on Saturday.

The hot weather forecast for Saturday led Northern Beaches Council to cancel a planned Christmas event at Manly Corso as the council expected thousands to flock to local beaches.

More than 2000 lifesaving volunteers will be on patrol at 140 beaches across the state on Saturday, Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce said.

“We will have jet-skis on the water on the weekend, both the helicopters will be doing patrols, we will have quite a few of our drones doing surveillance work, we have more staff in our operations centre as well,” he said.

“We are expecting a high influx of calls with the high temperatures – it’s going to be pretty hectic.”

While Pearce urged swimmers to stick to patrolled beaches, he also acknowledged many would still go to unpatrolled stretches of coastline. His advice if someone is in distress is to call triple zero, and if attempting a rescue, always use a flotation device.

Hot weather could put a strain on the body by exacerbating underlying health conditions, said NSW Health executive director of health protection Jeremy McAnulty.

Extreme heat is one of the biggest causes of hospitalisations, accounting for 7104 injury hospitalisations and 293 deaths between 2012 and 2022.

Conditions to ease

Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said the heatwave had been caused by warm air building over north-western Australia, with a slow weather pattern slowly pulling it across the country.

While the heatwave has eased in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, Queensland, NSW and Victoria are set to suffer in the coming days.

The good news is that NSW will see the worst of the hot weather at the weekend, with relief for western parts of the state beginning on Sunday and moving across eastern parts of the state by Tuesday.

“Heatwaves don’t last forever,” Dutschke said.

It comes as European Union scientists have declared 2023 the warmest year on record.

Every month since June was the warmest on record globally, according to the latest monthly climate update from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

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