Overview
- Sydney’s CBD reached about 37C as western suburbs broke October records, including 39.8C at Bankstown and 39.5C at Penrith, with Gosford at 38.6C and Williamtown at 39.8C.
- Inland extremes earlier in the week set the stage, with Birdsville hitting 46.1C and Bourke 44.8C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
- By early evening there were 50 fires burning in NSW with 12 uncontrolled, and total fire bans were in force across Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter, Illawarra/Shoalhaven and other regions.
- Damaging winds compounded risks, with gusts around 80 km/h reported near Sydney, more than 100 km/h at Bombala, and up to 130 km/h forecast along Victoria’s south‑west coast.
- Authorities issued heat‑health guidance and warned of rapid fire escalation, as the BoM flagged a cool change for Sydney by Thursday morning and forecast peak heat shifting to south‑east Queensland on Thursday.