News

43°C predicted for Melbourne amid catastrophic fire danger in Victoria

Source Weatherzone Fri 09 Jan 2026

Authorities have issued total fire bans across parts of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales on Friday, with intense heat and blustery winds likely to cause catastrophic fire danger in four Victorian districts. Fire danger ratings spiking A low pressure system moving to the south of Australia on Friday will cause northwesterly winds to strengthen over southeastern Australia. These blustery winds will carry extremely hot air towards Vic, causing temperatures and fire danger ratings to soar. Friday's burst of hot and windy weather will cause catastrophic fire danger ratings in Victoria’s Wimmera, North Central, Northern Country and South West districts. Extreme fire danger is predicted elsewhere in Vic and in parts of southern NSW and large areas of SA. Image: Forecast fire danger ratings and total fire bans on Friday, January 9, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Catastrophic fire danger is the highest possible level of fire danger in Australia. This rating indicates the most dangerous conditions possible for a fire. If a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be threatened, and help may not be available if a fire is impacting your home. Victoria’s Country Fire Authority urges residents to follow this advice on days with catastrophic fire danger: Your life may depend on the decisions you make, even before there is a fire. For your survival, do not be in bushfire risk areas. Stay safe by going to a safer location early in the morning or the night before. Homes cannot withstand fires in these conditions. You may not be able to leave and help may not be available. The highest fire danger ratings on Friday are likely to occur in Vic during the afternoon, as temperatures and wind reach their peak for the day. A west-southwesterly change passing over the state in the afternoon and evening will bring some relief from the heat, although the change in wind direction will also cause fires to start moving in a new direction, which can make them difficult to control. The wind change may also trigger a few thunderstorms across parts of Vic on Friday. These storms are likely to produce little or no rain, which means dry lightning could start new fires as the storms pass through. Hottest day in years for parts of southeastern Australia Temperatures are predicted to exceed 40°C over a broad area of Australia on Friday, extending more than 3500 km from southern Vic all the way up to Western Australia’s Pilbara district. While these temperatures are normal for mid-summer in northwestern Australia, some areas in the southeast will have their hottest day in more than five years on Friday. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures over Australia on Friday, January 9, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Melbourne is forecast to reach 43°C on Friday afternoon, which would make it the city’s hottest day since December 2019 during Australia's ‘Black Summer’. Further north, Mildura is predicted to reach 45°C and SA’s Renmark is forecast to reach 46°C on Friday. This extreme heat will pose a risk to human health and infrastructure and put strain on energy supply in Vic, SA, NSW and the ACT. Visit the Australian Red Cross website for tips on how to keep cool during a heatwave. - Weatherzone © Weatherzone 2026