Mercury peaks at 43 degrees in Melbourne as hot winds wreak havoc

15 hours ago 5

Melbourne suffered through near-record heat on Friday while destructive winds downed trees, cut power and fanned dangerous flames.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s observation station at Olympic Park recorded a maximum of 42.9 degrees at 4.04pm, but by 5.15pm the temperature had plummeted to 31.3 degrees as a cool change from the west hit the city.

People at Brighton Beach on Friday morning, before the extreme heat kicked in.

A spokesperson for the weather bureau said that before Friday, the last time the temperature climbed above 40 degrees at Melbourne Park in January was six years ago, when the mercury hit an identical 42.9 degrees.

The record at the station remains 43.5 degrees, set in December 2019.

The State Emergency Service said it received 539 calls for help from midnight Friday until 4pm, including 420 requests for assistance with fallen trees as wind gusts of up to 95km/h were recorded at Avalon, north of Geelong.

As bushfires raged in regional Victoria, metropolitan brigades tackled a major factory blaze that broke out in Derrimut, in Melbourne’s western suburbs, about 10.40am.

Fire crews battle a factory fire in Derrimut on Friday.

Four people were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and the fire caused part of the building on Derrimut Crescent to collapse, a Fire Rescue Victoria spokesperson said. The blaze was declared under control at 1.28pm.

A warning for smoke was issued for nearby suburbs, and the Environmental Protection Agency rated the air in Brooklyn as poor on Friday amid fires across the state.

There were fewer power outages in Melbourne compared to regional Victoria, but almost 100,000 customers across the state were without power just after 5pm on Friday.

Rob Hawli, the owner of Tarneit West Fish and Chips, said the outage in his suburb was the longest he had experienced in a decade of owning his business.

“It’s going to cost us a full day of trade. Especially being a Friday, it’s our busiest day of the week,” Hawli said.

Emergency services continued to focus on major bushfires near Longwood, in central Victoria, and Walwa, in the far north-east, amid fears a wind change would drastically widen fire fronts.

Grass fires also threaten Skipton (near Ballarat), Muckatah (near Cobram in far northern Victoria), Harcourt (near Castlemaine), Meredith (near Geelong) and Natimuk (near Horsham).

“We are in a day where ... the weather is really hot, it’s windy,” said State Control Centre spokesman David Nugent just before 5pm.

“We have storms forecast. We have a wind change. So it’s critical that even if people aren’t in areas where they might know there are fires, that they keep up to date with all of the conditions.”

In Melbourne, meanwhile, SES crews in the City of Whitehorse were the busiest in the state as strong gusts felled trees, including one that forced the Hurstbridge train line to be suspended around 5pm.

Trains between Bayswater and Belgrave were also cancelled due to the extreme fire risk in the Dandenongs.

The Hume Freeway remained closed near Seymour due to the Longwood bushfire.

The weather bureau warned that the Mallee, Wimmera, Central and South-West districts would suffer a severe heatwave until early on Saturday.

“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,” the alert said.

On Saturday, the top temperature for Melbourne is forecast to be a milder 27 degrees.