Melbourne Is Set to Swelter Through Its First Scorcher of 2021 Today
It's set to hit 38 degrees in Melbourne, which will be the city's hottest day in a year.
Melbourne has had a warm start to the new year, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s for the past week; however, a blast of extra sizzling warmth awaits today. Indeed, finding some frosty air-con or a shaded pool is recommended, with the city predicted to swelter through a day-long spell of 38-degree heat.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects the mercury to soar across Victoria on Monday, January 11, hitting 38 in Melbourne and up to 40 in the state's north. While that's a about ten degrees above Melbourne's average January temperature, it's still lower than the city's highest recorded January maximum of 45.6 degrees back in 1939.
It is the city's hottest day since January 31, 2020, though, when the mercury hit 42.9.
With today's hot weather, comes very high and severe levels of fire danger across parts of Victoria. A total fire ban has also been declared for the day in Mallee, Wimmera and the Northern Country districts.
If you were hoping to escape the heat by heading to a swimming hole or beach, keep in mind that the state's public transport has also been impacted by the heat. V/Line has implemented its Extreme Heat Timetable for several lines, including Bendigo, Swan Hill, Geelong and Warrnambool, which means journey times will be extended and some services will be replaced by air-conditioned coaches. Yarra Trams is also expecting service changes across the network today.
Thankfully, the scorching summer blast will be short-lived, with the BOM predicting a cool change to come through late in the evening. After an expected high of 34 on Wednesday, the city will return to the low-20s for the rest of the week.
You can stay up to date with public transport changes at the PTV website and fire danger levels and bans at Country Fire Authority.
Image: udeyismail via Flickr.
