Weather Warnings

The heat index – or "feels like" – temperature reportedly reached 59C in Rio de Janeiro as thousands of fans queued up for Taylor Swift's performance.

Storms carrying the risk of heavy rain, large hail, and damaging winds are set to hit much of northern and eastern Australia this week while Western Australia bakes under a potential record-breaking November heatwave.

Searing conditions will endure until the end of the week amid the longest stretch of hot November days since 2020. Residents are counting on widespread thunderstorms to bring relief over the weekend.

The developing system is the second cyclone of the South Pacific season which only began a fortnight ago. 

Residents across Victoria are on heightened alert for thunderstorm asthma outbreaks this week, but how does stormy weather combine with pollen levels to create such chaos?

Some of the storm activity has the potential to become severe, carrying the risk of gusty winds, heavy rain and hail. 

New digital fire rating signs are being installed on roadsides across the country but some people say they are hard to read in certain circumstances. 

An increase of 10 to 20 degrees Celsius in the air temperature from one day to the next can play a critical role in determining a fire threat.

In the decade since Emerald's Sharron Booth first installed solar panels there have been changes to how their isolators are kept safe. That became all too apparent when flames engulfed part of her rooftop system one recent weekday morning.

"Seek a place to keep cool," Kimberley residents told amid weather warnings from the nation's north-west to the south-east, ranging from fires, heatwaves, rain, a flood threat, a cold front, and potential cyclone.

As the climate changes, an increasing number of houses in Australia are projected to be exposed to bushfires. Now, a new tool, flagged by a royal commission, has been developed that lets individuals and communities realise their vulnerabilities, plan for change and go into the next disaster better prepared.

Residents across the state are being warned to brace for dangerous bushfire conditions this weekend, after a challenging week for many communities.

Queensland researchers launch a project to develop an in-home early warning system for elderly residents during extreme heat.

Residents in five regions, including Greater Sydney, are being told to stay alert ahead of the hot and windy conditions forecast for today. The fire risk is rated as high for much of the rest of the state.

South Australians should play their part in preparation for a hot and dry bushfire season ahead, authorities say as the state recorded its second warmest winter in history.

The Bureau of Meteorology has just released its outlook for the coming season, detailing the risk of tropical cyclones, floods, heatwaves, fires and storms. 

Climate researchers at the Bureau of Meteorology hope a new system will prevent situations where some agencies are declaring an El Niño event and others aren't.

Thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast for parts of Victoria and New South Wales, dousing fires but bringing the threat of flash flooding, as a low pressure system intensifies over the eastern states.

Firefighters in eastern Victoria say steady rain and a cool change is bringing some relief as they battle two serious bushfires near Briagolong and at Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes.

Temperatures are expected to be 10 to 15 degrees above average across the state as the first of the season's significant fire weather arrives.

Catastrophic fire danger warnings have been issued in parts of Australia already as it enters a hotter and drier than average climate pattern. If the fire season has taken you by surprise, here's a reminder of how the warning system works.

South Australia regional towns of Ceduna and Port Augusta have broken September hot weather records this week in a worrying sign of warmer-than-average temperatures to come this summer.

A record spell of September heat is baking southern states, with temperatures as much as 18 degrees Celsius above average.

Sydney's air quality on Thursday morning was the worst it has been since smoke from this week's hazard-reduction burns began blanketing the city.

Parts of Victoria are taking a battering as a strong cold front bound for Melbourne moves through the south west of the state.