Drinking lots of water and keeping cool in the water was the order of the day for many Illawarra residents on Tuesday.
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They also sought refuge in air-conditioned premises as the hot and humid conditions predicted arrived, with Albion Park reaching a top of 31 degrees and Wollongong hitting 29.
The blast of true summer heat will continue for the rest of the week, bringing “severe heatwave” conditions to much of the Illawarra, with western parts of the state set to swelter through an “extreme heatwave”, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
And, with temperatures to be even warmer away from the coast, a ‘State Heatwave Sub Plan’ was activated on Tuesday by the State Emergency Operations Controller.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy urged residents to monitor weather reports and follow health and safety advice.
At the same time BoM held a joint media conference with New South Wales Health and the NSW Rural Fire Service to inform the public about the “high intensity heatwave conditions”.
The mercury is set to increase over the coming days with BoM saying the western half of the state will see daytime temperatures climb above 45 degrees.
People have been warned not to expect a reprieve until at least the weekend in many areas, including Wollongong and Albion Park, which will drop to a manageable 25 and 27 degrees respectively.
The heatwave conditions are also expected to bring elevated fire risks across NSW and the ACT.
Heatwave conditions can also have a significant impact on people’s health with Deputy Commissioner Loy calling on people to avoid strenuous activity where possible, remain hydrated and check on the safety of older or vulnerable members of the community.
“As the weather heats up, I cannot stress strongly enough to motorists that it’s not only an offence for children or pets to be left unattended in a vehicle, it can be deadly,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Loy said it was also concerning that the school holidays were only halfway through and there were thousands of tourists, campers, and other holidaymakers in unfamiliar environments.
“We are urging everyone to take extra care, especially when swimming; whether at the beach, pools or in rivers,” he said.
“Every year thousands of people require rescuing from the surf, some needlessly drown.”