Sydney weather as it happened: Observatory Hill reaches 42.2 degrees amid extreme heatwave; firefighters battle flare-ups across NSW

Good evening, thank you for tuning into our live weather coverage.

Today, temperatures across the state soared above 40 degrees. While the worst of the heatwave is over, damaging winds and a cold front are still expected. Here is what we covered today:

• Sydney, along with large swaths of the state, experienced an extreme heatwave today as temperatures climbed to 42.2 degrees.
• Damaging wind warnings have been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, which predicts gusts of up to 100km/h from early this evening.
• The Rural Fire Service has urged residents near fires to watch out for a direction change ahead of strong winds.
• A southerly buster will gust through Sydney and much of the eastern seaboard later this evening, with the temperature forecast to drop into the low 20s overnight.
• The NSW Rural Fire Service dealt with 57 fires as of 7pm.
• Four fires along the Victorian border are under emergency warnings.
• Firefighters have been deployed to fight a major blaze on the border with Victoria, which has declared a state of disaster.
• A total fire ban applies to areas including the south-east of NSW, the Central Ranges, Sydney, and the Greater Hunter.
• Authorities have urged people to drink lots of water, stay inside, keep an eye on the elderly and young children, and call Triple Zero in case of an emergency.

Central Coast councillor Jared Wright has praised the efforts of the Rural Fire Service in combating a fire kilometres away from where a bushfire swept through Koolewong last month.

“Ground crews are on the scene where an area of bush is alight. At this stage, it is reported to be due to a tree fallen from within a previously burnt area,” Wright said. According to the Fires Near Me website, the fire is under control.

“We have one of the best RFS teams anywhere in Australia here on the Central Coast, and each local unit always comes together to support the broader region when needed during times like this.

“After what happened last month in Koolewong, our community is certainly feeling a sense of relief today that there were no wide-scale fires, as we continue to rebuild following the Koolewong tragedy.”

Good evening, thank you for tuning into our live weather coverage.

Today, temperatures across the state soared above 40 degrees. While the worst of the heatwave is over, damaging winds and a cold front are still expected. Here is what we covered today:

• Sydney, along with large swaths of the state, experienced an extreme heatwave today as temperatures climbed to 42.2 degrees.
• Damaging wind warnings have been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, which predicts gusts of up to 100km/h from early this evening.
• The Rural Fire Service has urged residents near fires to watch out for a direction change ahead of strong winds.
• A southerly buster will gust through Sydney and much of the eastern seaboard later this evening, with the temperature forecast to drop into the low 20s overnight.
• The NSW Rural Fire Service dealt with 57 fires as of 7pm.
• Four fires along the Victorian border are under emergency warnings.
• Firefighters have been deployed to fight a major blaze on the border with Victoria, which has declared a state of disaster.
• A total fire ban applies to areas including the south-east of NSW, the Central Ranges, Sydney, and the Greater Hunter.
• Authorities have urged people to drink lots of water, stay inside, keep an eye on the elderly and young children, and call Triple Zero in case of an emergency.

Today was hot. But just how hot was it?

Sydney recorded a high of 43.5 degrees in Holsworthy, located 31 kilometres south-west of Sydney’s CBD.

Observatory Hill today peaked at 42.2 degrees, having also reached that temperature in mid-December. For perspective, the last time it got close to this heat in the CBD in January was when it hit 41.2 degrees on January 23, 2020, during NSW’s Black Summer bushfire season.

The hottest place in the state today was in NSW’s far north-west at Borrona Downs, where temperatures soared to 44.6 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the state’s Central West mining town of Cobar, the mercury hit 43.4 degrees.

Trains have been travelling across the city at slower speeds today because of the heat, which could mean more services are running late.

“Sydney Trains manages the safety of services and passengers travelling across the network by implementing speed restrictions for train services at specific locations,” Transport NSW said in a statement.

“From 12pm to 8pm today, Sydney Trains have multiple heat speed restrictions in place across the network. This is expected to have a minor impact on the punctuality of train services. ”

The statement said some buses had been placed on standby to assist with passenger movements if necessary.