A temperature of 45.8C was recorded at Observatory¹ Hill in the city at 14:55 local time.

 

Some areas in the wider Sydney region were even hotter, with the town of Penrith, to the west, registering a temperature of 46.5C.

 

Firefighters are still battling dozens of wildfires sparked by the intense heat in New South Wales and Victoria.

 

The small town of Licola in eastern Victoria is reported to have been cut off by a 44,500-hectare fire, as its sole access road is blocked.

 

Officials said dozens of people had been evacuated² but 10 locals were still there. 

 

Rob Gilder³, a sheep farmer, said he and two employees had found themselves trapped on their farm and were "in grave danger".

 

He told the Herald⁴ Sun they were taking steps to protect their house and farm equipment, but that he was concerned for his livestock⁵, and that the situation could worsen.

 

"I am very worried. But I am hopeful that one of those helicopters will come and get us but I think the smoke might beat them."

 

Australia faces wildfires each year as temperatures climb. In February 2009, on what has come to be known as Black Saturday, 173 people were killed in fires in the state of Victoria.

 

On Friday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard attended a memorial service for fires in 2003 in the capital, Canberra, which killed four people and destroyed thousands of homes.

 

She reminded Australians to "take the appropriate precautions to stay safe and monitor information from local emergency services as they work to protect lives and property", the AFP news agency reports.

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