Bushfires: for some, fearsome heat; others, a deluge

Suffocating heat, bone-dry skies and devastating bushfires returned to the east coast of Australia on Thursday.

A worker tries to put out a bushfire near West Queanbeyan, 10km southeast of Canberra, on Thursday. Picture: AAP

Suffocating heat, bone-dry skies and devastating bushfires returned to the east coast of Australia on Thursday as temperatures soared above 40C across vast swaths of NSW.

Winds gusted, the mercury climbed and what little moisture was in the air evaporated in a haze of smoke as a cluster of bushfires briefly brought back red skies to the south coast.

Tamworth, in northeastern NSW, was engulfed by a massive dust storm that blanketed the city in brown and red dust, while in Canberra, two bushfires merged on Thursday afternoon, triggering an emergency alert and forcing temporary closure of the airport.

At the height of the fire threat in NSW, five emergency warnings were issued for blazes burning in parts of the Bega Valley, Snowy Monaro and Eurobodalla regions.

Sydney sweltered as temperatures in the city centre climbed to 39.5C by 12.30pm, hitting 42.4C in Penrith to the west.

Even at Bondi in the east, the sea breeze was no match for strong westerly winds that caused temperatures on the beach to soar to 38C.

Sydney Airport had the hottest observed temperature across the city, with a high of 43.7C at 3.20pm.

The NSW government ordered residents to cut their power use as the state’s supply neared full capacity amid fears temperatures could spark widespread blackouts.

Energy Minister Matt Kean urged residents across NSW “to reduce their demand” as the state government scrambled to secure the state’s power supply.

A recycling centre on the outskirts of the ACT caught fire on Thursday afternoon after it was affected by a bushfire burning in Canberra’s southeast, causing air quality to plummet and pushing up plumes of black smoke.

Other parts of Australia, however, were drenched by waves of rain: Falls Creek in Victoria received almost 30mm, while a cold front that collided with a dust storm led to a downpour of “dirty rain” across Melbourne.

The Bureau of Meteorology said a weak southerly change would arrive on Friday morning, causing temperatures to drop to the mid-20s in central and north-eastern NSW.

“This time of the year, we don’t normally see these kinds of strong fronts — normally it’s humid and wet,” Dean Narromore, a meteorologist at the BOM, said.

“We’re also expecting quite a bit of rain over northwest and ­central Queensland with the monsoon low.”

On Thursday evening, 84 bush or grass fires were burning across NSW, with about 40 yet to be ­contained.

Six regions across NSW face a “high” fire danger rating on Friday, including the ACT, Illawarra/Shoalhaven, Monaro Alpine and the Southern Ranges.