cool? - it is in my living room with the desk fan blowing on me, but according to Bureau of Met site it was 40.1C at Observatory Hill, beside Sydney harbour, a km or 2 from my harbourside suburb about 15 mins ago.

42.3 at Sydney Airport, also next to the ocean & not all that much hotter in Sydney's west where harbour & ocean breezes don't reach. Fortunately the famous Sydney humidity is very low across Sydney.

Message form NSW Rural Fire Service says the cool change is reaching Sydney's Southern suburbs & we'll be dropping about 10 degrees.   Temperature has fallen about 2C since I started typing!


Fire warning for tourists (Western Australia) Western Australia's Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) is warning holiday makers to be aware of bushfire risks.

FESA says WA is in the middle of the bushfire season and holiday makers in areas susceptible to fires need to have a survival plan.

FESA Spokesman Allen Gale says it is important for them to familiarise themselves with the area in which they are staying.

"Know where you are, know what the roads are like, know the way you can get out and get away to somewhere that's safer," he said.

"The most important thing is that if a fire starts, then you just need to go to somewhere that's going to be safe."

Catastrophic rating in inland Gascoyne

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority has issued a catastrophic fire warning for the inland Gascoyne.

People living adjacent to bushland have been told to put their bushfire survival plan into action.

FESA has also warned those in the central west of the state that they are facing severe fire danger.