Overview
- South Australia logged 50.0C at Port Augusta and 50C at Andamooka, with multiple towns near or above 49C, while Victoria set a state record of 48.9C at Walpeup and Hopetoun.
- A southerly cool change has reached coastal areas and is forecast to cut maximums by about 10–15C across southern inland NSW, northern Victoria and eastern SA through Sunday into Monday.
- Power networks have been heavily stressed, with SA Power Networks reporting more than 100,000 outages since January 24 and Victorian authorities earlier tallying over 100,000 homes without electricity.
- Bushfires intensified by the heat have prompted evacuations in Victoria, with major blazes including the Carlisle River area in the Otways and authorities warning of ongoing containment challenges.
- Meteorologists link the prolonged event to a stationary heat dome shaped by Rossby‑wave patterns and outflows tied to Tropical Cyclone Luana, while scientific analyses indicate human‑driven warming increased the likelihood and severity of such extreme heat.