Parts of Australia are sweltering in a five-day burst of uncommon spring heat, forecast to last until Wednesday, pushing temperatures up by as much as 16 degrees Celsius (60 Fahrenheit) above the September average.
More than 500 firefighters and emergency personnel are trying to tame 61 fires across New South Wales state as of Tuesday morning, with 13 not yet contained, authorities said.
Twenty-one schools in New South Wales, mostly in the state's south, have been closed.
"Due to hot, dry and windy conditions forecast throughout the day and overnight, several parts of (New South Wales) will experience high fire danger," fire services said on Facebook.
Temperatures could reach 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 F) in Sydney on Tuesday, just shy of the September record of 34.6 degrees Celsius (94.28 F) in 1965.
Persons:
Renju Jose, Michael Perry
Organizations:
Sydney, Facebook, Meteorology, Thomson
Locations:
Australia's, Australia, New South Wales, Sydney, El Nino