Dry conditions, high winds and extreme heat have each played a role in wildfires sweeping the east coast of Australia this week.
In the state of New South Wales, about 80 separate fires were burning Wednesday — nearly half of them uncontained.
Additionally, the greater Sydney area was under an extreme fire danger warning.
As the end of the week approaches, forecasters say Sydney will cool, but the heat will move north to Queensland and the Northern Territory.
A government meteorologist told the Guardian it's “unusual” for high temperatures to linger as long as they have.
Australia is now just about three weeks into spring. Last year brought heavy rains, leaving areas of overgrown grasslands and brush.
And now the country is coming out of its driest winter on record, leaving all that plant life as potential fuel for fires.
This week, the government declared Australia is also in an El Nino weather pattern, which increases the risk of drought, heatwaves and bushfires.
But weather forecasters say they do not expect a repeat of the disastrous season of 2019 when fires and smoke killed 480 people and burned some 59 million acres — an area the BBC says equals the size of the United Kingdom.
