A total fire ban has been declared for Sydney and many other regions after statewide temperature records tumbled in NSW and Queensland.
Both states broke their October temperature record by close to a degree yesterday as temperatures soared well beyond 40 degrees Celsius.
Birdsville in the deep Queensland outback near the border with South Australia hit 46.1 degrees, an entire degree more than the previous record set in 1995.
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It's also the eighth hottest October temperature ever recorded in Australia, and the only figure in the top 10 from outside of Western Australia.
In NSW, Bourke hit 44.8 degrees, almost a full degree more than the 1919 mark of 43.9 set in the same place.
Weatherzone said there were several local monthly heat records across the eastern states, including Queensland's Thargomindah hitting 45.1, obliterating its previous October maximum by a full two degrees, and Tibooburra in NSW climbing to 42.8 degrees, 0.2 degrees hotter than the previous mark.
Records aren't officially declared until 9am the following day but there was no chance of the daily maximums being exceeded overnight.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting another scorcher for NSW and Queensland today, with a top of 39 in Sydney, but the residents of Bourke and Birdsville will be breathing a sigh of relief with temperatures expected back below 40 degrees.
An extreme total fire ban kicked in at midnight for the Greater Hunter, Greater Sydney, Illawarra/Shoalhaven and Upper Central West Plains regions.
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"Take action now to protect your life and property," the Rural Fire Service warned yesterday.
"These are dangerous fire conditions. Check your bush fire plan and ensure that your property is fire ready.
"If a fire starts, take immediate action. If you and your property are not prepared to the highest level, go to a safer location well before the fire impacts."
North-west NSW is under a high total fire ban.
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Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Angus Hines said there was a "bubble" of heat through the eastern interior of the country, covering western Queensland, north-western NSW and northern South Australia.
"The interior is seeing these incredibly hot temperatures, including a top of 31 degrees as the minimum for Thargominhad in the far south-west of Queensland," he said yesterday afternoon.
"Then after a warm morning, there's going to be a warm day."
Local temperature records had already tumbled on Monday across South Australia, NSW and Queensland.
