Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Victoria TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST Heatwave Warning Issued at 02:33 PM EDT on Thursday 08 January 2026 Valid for Thursday 08 January 2026 to Saturday 10 January 2026 Warning for the following areas: Northern Country, North East, East Gippsland, West and South Gippsland and North Central Warning for the following areas: Mallee, Wimmera, Central and South West Safety Advice: Extreme heatwaves can be dangerous for everyone. Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people, especially older people, babies, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell. Seek a place to keep cool, such as your home, a library, community centre or shopping centre. Close your windows and draw blinds, curtains or awnings early in the day to keep the heat out of your home. If available, use fans or air-conditioners to keep cool. Maximum Temperatures ranging from the low thirties in the Southwest and the Central coastal areas and even milder along the Southwest coast, to the low to mid forties in the north Thursday. Maximum temperatures peaking Friday with low to mid forties expected through all but the far southwest of the State. Overnight minimum temperatures range from the mid to high teens in the south to the mid to high twenties in the north. Severe to extreme heatwave conditions will ease from the southwest with a cooler change developing during Friday and extending throughout most of the warning area by Saturday morning, although struggling to clear the northeast till later Saturday. Locations likely to be impacted include Melbourne Metropolitan Area, Albury-Wodonga, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Mildura, Melton, Shepparton and Wangaratta. The next heatwave warning will be issued by 3:00pm EDT on Friday 09 January 2026