Sydney sweats in spring hot spell, faces 'extreme' bushfire risk

Sydney experienced a sudden heatwave in early spring on Saturday, raising concerns of heightened bushfire risk and prompting authorities to impose a ban on any open flames. The intense weather is attributed to a powerful El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific, anticipated to be among the strongest in decades, which is bringing hotter and drier conditions to southern Australia during the September-November spring season.

According to the nation's weather forecaster, the city of 5.6 million residents was forecasted to reach a temperature of 33°C (91.4°F) on Saturday, nearly 13°C higher than the average for the time of year. At Sydney Airport, the temperature was already recorded at 28.6°C (83.48°F) at 11.30am (0130 GMT) local time, which is more than seven degrees above the September mean maximum temperature.

Strong and gusty northwesterly winds began to develop in the morning, further exacerbating the dry and unusually warm conditions, leading to increased fire dangers across the Greater Sydney Region. State fire authorities declared an extreme fire risk level, the second-highest danger rating, for Sydney. Climate change is intensifying extreme heat and fire weather, making Australia, a bushfire-prone country with a population of approximately 27 million, more susceptible to such events.

In January, thousands of firefighters fought bushfires in the southeast that destroyed homes, cut power to thousands of households, and scorched vast areas of bushland.