“For most people, we’ll have the hottest day since last summer or early autumn.”
A severe heatwave warning has been issued for most of Victoria: across the northern country, north-east, east Gippsland, west and south Gippsland and north-central regions.
Authorities this week urged Victorians to remain vigilant in hot conditions to avoid causing bushfires, but How said the calm conditions would aid firefighters if a blaze were to start.
“Thankfully, it’s not super windy, so even though it’s really hot, we’re not seeing those very gusty northern winds, which can usually drive elevated fire dangers. Regardless, we still have extreme fire danger for the Wimmera and high for most other districts.
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“From a health perspective, many people might find it challenging in the hot temperatures today, so just a reminder to people to stay cool. Thankfully [the extreme heat] is not going to stick around for too long.”
The temperature in Melbourne is forecast to drop to 20 degrees overnight, and then rise again to 33 degrees on Friday.
A cool change is then expected to sweep through the city on Friday evening, with the chance of small thunderstorms and rain.
And that’s where the heatwave will end, with temperatures dropping to 24 degrees on Saturday.
How said the week before Christmas would be cooler than average, with a top of 19 degrees currently forecast for Christmas day.
However, the heat will rise again the following day as the Boxing Day Test kicks off at the MCG.
“[The weather] is still sort of quite erratic. At the moment, across Melbourne and Victoria, we’re kind of see-sawing between hot and cool.
“This week’s a perfect example: we’ve got [high] temperatures today, but then Christmas Day is going to be quite cool. People need to bring their jackets out for Christmas lunch and Christmas evening, before it warms up again on Boxing Day,” How said.
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“We are probably still in that transition period between spring and summer. As we head into January, that’s when we would normally start to see things getting a little bit more stable.
But, if you live in Melbourne, you do know that things can change quite quickly.”
As the state heats up, police are reminding the public that fire safety is a “personal responsibility”, warning that reckless behaviour can lead to catastrophic results.
“A fire started through reckless behaviour can have the same outcomes as a deliberately lit fire, including significant loss of life, serious injury, property damage and more,” police said in a statement on Thursday morning.
Arson and explosives squad detective inspector Chris Murray said it served as an important reminder to the community that “if you light it, you own it”.
“We won’t hesitate to hold those to account for starting a fire – whether it is recklessly or deliberately lit, the outcome is usually the same,” he said.
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