A heatwave affecting south-eastern Australia has stretched into a third day, making it Victoria’s worst run of autumn hot weather in 80 years.
The Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures were expected to reach the mid to high 30s in every Victorian district except the Alps on Monday.
Conditions in Victoria over the last three days have been 10 to 16 degrees above the March average and a heatwave warning remains in place for most of the state.
Heatwave warnings are also in place for parts of Tasmania and South Australia.
Senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, Sarah Scully, said there Victoria had not seen three consecutive days of autumn temperatures in the high 30s since 1942.
“Melbourne’s had a number of March overnight minimum temperature records broken and there’s also been some maximum temperature [records],” she told ABC News Breakfast.
“There’s a really strong and stubborn high pressure system in the Tasman Sea that directs hot, northerly winds over south-eastern Australia and these blocking high pressure systems also prevent cold fronts from being able to sweep across those southern parts of the country and flush away the heat.”
A southerly change is expected to sweep through southern parts of Victoria early Tuesday morning.
Victorian music festival cancelled amid extreme heat
An Extreme Fire Danger warning and total fire ban is in place for the South West district of Victoria
Chief fire officer with Forest Fire Management Victoria, Chris Hardman, said today’s conditions would be challenging.
He said organisers of the Pitch Festival, near Moyston, made the right call to cancel the remainder of the event considering the conditions and fire danger.
“When we have these heatwave events associated with music festivals, dance parties or other events, they can lead to high-risk situations that people can find themselves in,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
“I’m really pleased that in those areas where we have a total fire ban that those events have been cancelled.”
Tanya Smith’s two sons attended the Pitch Festival until it was cancelled, but she said it should not have gone ahead.
“It’s not about how well it’s run, we knew that the weather conditions were going to be like this, the fact that it’s been cancelled is of no surprise to anyone, it was always going to happen,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“It just seems like madness to me that this was allowed to go ahead.”
A 23-year-old man died at the Alfred Hospital after being flown from the area in a critical condition early on Sunday morning.
Two other men, aged in their 20s and 30s, were taken to local hospitals after attending the festival — Ambulance Victoria said all three incidents involved suspected substance abuse.
No Moomba parade this year
The parade at Melbourne’s Moomba Parade has been cancelled to protect the health of performers, spectators and workers during today’s extreme heat.
Other parts of the festival, including activities on the Yarra River will go ahead.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said it was a difficult decision to cancel today’s parade.
“Absolutely devastating, so many people are frankly gutted, including the City of Melbourne team that work for a year to prepare for this event and knowing that the parade is really the jewel in the crown. It was just not possible,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Ms Capp said crowds at the Moomba Festival were down around 25 per cent on previous years.