By Kayla Olaya
Inner Sydney is bracing for one of its hottest March days on record, but a strong and abrupt cold front is predicted to provide relief from the heat from Monday.
Sweltering temperatures of 37 degrees are expected to beset Sydney CBD on Sunday as hot air funnelled from inland NSW creates hot, dry and gusty conditions, Weatherzone senior meteorologist Craig Mitchell said.
“The hot temperature is pretty much for tomorrow, and then there’ll be quite a distinct cooler change to come … [with] relatively mild to warm temperatures rolling through into Tuesday,” Mitchell said.
Sydney is bracing for its hottest day in March for the year on Sunday.Credit: Steven Siewert
Western Sydney temperatures will also hit 37 degrees. However, in an unusual forecast, the CBD and eastern suburbs will be as hot as the city’s west.
Hot, dry winds are lingering around Sydney across the weekend in a weather phenomenon that has blocked the seabreeze from cooling down areas on the coast.
“When this happens, at times the stronger winds can really shut down the mechanism for the seabreeze to the coast and with that, it looks like it will be persisting that hot wind from western Sydney, all the way through to the coast,” meteorologist Dylan Bird, from the Bureau of Meteorology, said.
Western Sydney is set to be spared from higher temperatures.Credit: Steven Siewert
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe heatwave warning for Sydney on Sunday, in addition to a fire weather warning.
A total fire ban has been declared for the Greater Sydney, central ranges, southern slopes and southern ranges regions.
Intensive care paramedic Andrew Bibby said NSW Ambulance has received 22 per cent more calls to triple zero than during the same period last year, and was expecting to receive more calls during the heatwave.
“Typically during a heatwave, we’ll get called to people who are feeling lightheaded, who are fainting, who have had periods of unconsciousness. In more severe cases, people might be having seizures because they are that dehydrated – that is when it becomes quite life-threatening,” said Bibby.
He urged the public to be extra vigilant and not leave children or pets in cars.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had experiences recently where we’ve been called to children left in cars on days like today. This is not the day for that. There’s never a day for that, but especially not today, the heat in a closed car can rise to fatal levels within 60 seconds,” he said.
Bibby urged the public to stay alert for symptoms of heat stroke such as nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, increased thirst, higher body temperature and heavy sweating. He urged anyone with these symptoms to call triple zero immediately.
He recommended staying in front of air-conditioning or a fan, wearing lightweight and flowy clothing and to drinking lots of water.
“On behalf of NSW Ambulance, I give everyone the day off from housework, from mowing lawns or from taking up marathon running,” he said.
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