Cool change brings relief across South-east Australia after record-breaking heatwave

A powerful cool change is sweeping across Australia’s south-east, bringing relief to millions after a brutal heatwave shattered temperature records, strained power networks, and pushed emergency services to the brink.

A cool change arrived on Sunday(February 1), bringing relief to millions after temperatures surged past 40 degrees across NSW, Victoria and South Australia a day earlier. The milder conditions are expected to continue into next week for parts of the country.

Last week’s heatwave smashed long-standing records, driving temperatures to 50 degrees in two South Australian towns, according to Weatherzone.


As record-breaking heat scorched Victoria, more than 100,000 residents were left without power while firefighters battled to prevent blazes from breaching containment lines.

According to 9News website, North-western areas of the state saw temperatures nudge 50 degrees as Melbourne’s suburbs baked at a high of 45.6 degrees. Hopetoun and Walpeup each recorded 48.9 degrees, eclipsing their previous heat records of 48.8 degrees from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.

Woomera endured its hottest week in 76 years, averaging a maximum of 46.7 degrees over seven days, Weatherzone said.

Sydney and NSW can expect showers and thunderstorms on Monday(2 February), with temperatures reaching 24 degrees, rising to 29 degrees by mid-week, while Melbourne fell to a near-chilly 19 degrees with showers, before warming to 31 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Adelaide will see a drop to 23 degrees today, before warming back into the low 30s this week, remaining far cooler than the recent extreme heat. Hobart will experience a 15 degrees this week, with showers forecast to move in.