Australia

Extreme Heatwave Grips Australia, Temps to Hit 47°C

Do climate policies cause more harm than warming, or are we facing a deadly heat crisis that demands immediate action?

JAN 6·Updated JAN 7

Extreme Heatwave Grips Australia, Temps to Hit 47°C

Story

Above: People seen walking with a dog during sunrise at Altona Beach, with Australia expected to face a severe heatwave. Image credit: Ye Myo Khant/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

The Facts

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe to extreme heatwave warnings for New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory, with temperatures forecast to reach 8-16 degrees above average.
The Advertiser
PerthNow
The Bureau of Meteorology
ABC News
Melbourne is expected to reach 41 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, while Adelaide could hit 41 degrees on the same day. Sydney is forecast to reach 39 degrees on Saturday, with some western suburbs potentially reaching 43 degrees.
News.com.au
ABC News
The heatwave is expected to be the most significant burst of heat for south-eastern Australia since the summer of 2019-20, with multiple consecutive days of temperatures in the mid- to high-40s forecast for inland areas. Some locations could reach 46 or 47 degrees Celsius.
guardian
9News Australia
Extreme fire danger warnings have been issued for South Australia and Victoria for Wednesday, with widespread extreme fire danger expected on Friday across both states. Total fire bans are in place for multiple districts, including Melbourne and surrounding areas.
Glamadelaide
Sky News Australia
9News Australia
The population living on the urban fringe of Melbourne has increased 111% from 2001 to 2024, reaching more than 2 million people. Sydney has 1.6 million people living on the urban fringe, up 24% over the same period.
1 News
Brisbane Times
Australia recorded its fourth-warmest year on record in 2025, with temperatures 1.23 degrees above the 1961-90 baseline. The hottest year on record was 2019, when temperatures were 1.51 degrees above the long-term average.
SBS News
The West Australian

Sources Split

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Extreme heat seasons that occurred once per century now happen every few years, with mortality rates doubling or tripling in major cities worldwide. Heat-related deaths already exceed 70,000 annually in Europe alone and continue rising as temperatures shatter records. Without immediate action, entire regions face uninhabitable summers while vulnerable populations suffer disproportionately.

The Conversation

Nature

Climate-skeptic narrative

Climate policies inflict far more damage than any warming itself, driving up electricity costs and scarring landscapes with industrial wind farms. The real killer isn't heat but cold — studies show cold temperatures cause 61% of weather-related deaths in Australia, dwarfing heat's 11% contribution. Fear-mongering about warming distracts from these facts while politicians push harmful energy transformations.

Pubmed