Temperature will hit 46 degrees Celsius in parts of outback Queensland today, with a heatwave kicking in for state’s central and southern regions.
Seven people were treated for heat-related illness yesterday, as health authorities warn people, especially the elderly and outdoor workers, to keep cool.
The mercury will climb to 46C in Birdsville in western Queensland, with many towns in that region enduring above 40C today and over the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
Temperatures will today crack 40C at Gatton and 38C in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, however a cool breeze will keep the coast cooler than expected.
Brisbane will climb to 32C.
BOM forecaster Diana Eadie said it would gradually get hotter in the coming days in central and southern Queensland.
“It won’t be as hot as initially forecast earlier this week,” she said.
“Still going for well above average.”
The weather bureau said severe and extreme heatwaves had taken more lives than any other natural hazard in Australia in the past 200 years.
Queensland University of Technology health expert Associate Professor Ian Stewart said workers in hot, physically demanding jobs should try and prevent heat strain.
“People who work in foundries, even restaurant kitchens, people underground in mining situations, bakeries, glass factories anywhere where there is a big furnace or a smelter,” he said.
“The heat from these occupational situations can also be really dangerous.”
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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