Australian Heatwave

Australia swelters in heat wave

Searing temperatures caused several fires to flare up across parts of south-east Australia as a heat wave arriving from the west of the country took hold.

Radio NZ,

25 January, 2014

South Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales sizzled, with the temperature in Adelaide hitting 45.1°C, making it the city's fourth hottest day on record.

Firefighters were called into action in Victoria and South Australia, with the South Australian Country Fire Service responding to nearly 250 callouts.

Melbourne's temperature hovered in the 20s overnight, hitting 40°C just before 1:30pm (AEDT) and peaking just shy of 43°C at 4pm (AEDT), the ABC reports.

Trains ran slower with fears the heat could warp tracks and cause widespread delays.xThousands of people were left without power in Melbourne's inner-north after equipment failure sparked outages.

In normally cool Tasmania, AAP reports, police had reports of melting bitumen as temperatures were about 18 degrees above the average across the state, hitting 40°C in Melton Mowbray and Bushy Park.

Forecasters say relief from the extreme heat is unlikely before the end of the week.