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Surge of heat for final week of summer

A burst of warmth will envelop large parts of Australia over the final week of summer, with four eastern capitals sweating through temperatures in the mid-thirties while persistent extreme heat lingers in the country’s interior. 

As the high pressure system currently centred over the Great Australian Bight pushes eastwards, northerly winds circulating around it will drag hot, dry air southwards. For the southeastern capitals, that will mean:

• Adelaide should hit 34°C on Tuesday, and while that’s a long way off its 43.3°C day on February 12 (Adelaide’s hottest day in five years), it’s a reminder that summer isn’t done yet after highs in the twenties for 10 of the previous 12 days (including this Monday).
• Melbourne will be the next cab off the rank with a maximum of 34°C expected on Wednesday.
• Beginning Wednesday, Canberra will have a run of several days in the thirties, with Thursday and Friday likely to be the warmest with top temps around 33°C.
• Sydney won't have its hottest day of the week until Friday, when the maximum should reach around 32°C in the city but will push a lot closer to 40°C in the western suburbs.
• Hobart should reach 29°C on Wednesday. The Tasmanian capital has reached 30°C or higher seven times in the summer of 2024/25 to date.

Image: Daily forecast on the Weatherzone app for Melbourne, Vic.

So while this week's warmth will be far from the most severe conditions of the 2024/25 summer for any of the southeastern capitals, as mentioned, Australia’s interior will sizzle.

Image: Maximum temps across Australia from Wednesday, Feb 26 through to Friday, Feb 28, 2025. Source: Climate Reanalyzer.

For example:

• Birdsville in the southwest corner of Queensland is expected to see maximums between 43°C and 46°C for the next seven days.
• Birdsville is one of Australia’s consistently hottest towns, so a brief spell of summer temperatures in the mid-40s is not generally newsworthy.
• But it's remarkable to see a full week of maximums pushing the mid-40s as we head towards autumn – and bear in mind that last week, Birdsville experienced seven consecutive days with comparatively mild max temps in the thirties.

With this week’s heat in Birdsville and nearby areas is expected to peak on Friday and Saturday, and with autumn starting on Saturday, there's even a chance that Queensland's all-time autumn high temp of 46.7°C (at Boulia Airport) could be threatened.

That will be a story for next week if it happens. For now, the main story is that residents of Australia's most populated corner will be reminded that it's the last week of summer, even if they don't sweat it out as much as people in the outback.