Key Points
- Heatwave conditions are hitting much of the country on Saturday.
- NSW and greater Sydney are expected to be particularly hot, reaching temperatures above the mid-40Cs.
- Extreme to catastrophic fire danger alerts issued for sections of South Australia, northern Victoria, outback NSW and Greater Sydney.
NSW is enduring a major heatwave with temperatures in the mid-40s and residents urged to keep a check on vulnerable friends and neighbours.
Penrith in Sydney's west recorded the highest temperature, reaching a scorching 43.6 degrees.
Inland is also hot and windy, with the ACT headed for a maximum of 37C.
Sydney concertgoers are sweating through a brutally hot day, with temperatures in the 40s, hoping for relief from a cool change sweeping up the east coast.
At least 100,000 people are descending on the entertainment precinct at Homebush where the mercury climbed to 42C on Saturday afternoon.
US rockers Foo Fighters will play to a huge crowd at Accor Stadium while US rapper 50 Cent is also expected to get thousands of people jumping at his second Sydney show at Qudos Bank Arena, despite the stifling heat.
Thousands more are attending the hard techno dance music festival Epik at the Sydney Showgrounds.
The Bureau of Meteorology expected relief to reach the Sydney coast between six and eight pm with a temperature drop of at least 10C expected when a southerly change sweeps into the region.
Heatwave warnings are current across parts of all mainland states, with high to catastrophic fire danger alerts issued for sections of South Australia, northern Victoria, outback NSW, and Greater Sydney.
In SA, about 35,000 households lost power on Friday due to catastrophic bushfire risk, dry lightning and strong winds.
SA Power Networks said it had to disconnect about one-third of those customers due to fire risks with all but 1400 reconnected to the grid by Saturday morning.
In Victoria, there were 809 requests for assistance to the State Emergency Service in the 24 hours to 11am, most for trees down and building damage after the state experienced wild winds on Friday afternoon.
A cool change has brought relief to the southern states with a maximum of 17C forecast in Adelaide and 19C in Melbourne for Saturday.
Warnings are still in place further north, with the NSW Rural Fire Service issuing total fire bans for five state districts including Sydney.
There are now 85 bushfires burning across New South Wales, up from 71 at 1pm.
Saturday was expected to be the hottest day of the NSW heatwave which is notable for its spread across the state.
Many areas experienced peak temperatures around 2 pm, compounded by scattered power outages.
Around 1 pm, Penrith and Richmond were both above 42 degrees.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Mariam Bradbury said the intense conditions were coming across the Dividing Ranges and even a sea-breeze would not spare coastal areas.
"This is not just the Sydney area," she told AAP.
"All the way up to the Newcastle coast, temperatures are pushing 40 degrees."
Bradbury said the cool change will continue to push up the coast later in the weekend but inland areas won't get much of a reprieve.
"Sydney is going to see a bit of relief going into Sunday with the cool change but it's going struggle to penetrate inland," she said.
A top of 27C is forecast for Sydney on Sunday.
Severe heat is forecast for Queensland's southern interior and parts of the far north, with temperatures well above average elsewhere.
Southern and western Victoria can expect rain on Saturday but it will remain hot in the state's far north and northeast.
