This year will most likely be the hottest since records began in 1880, driving up Australia’s fire risk as Sydney prepares to swelter.

October marked the sixth month in a row that heat records were shattered across the planet, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported this week.

Australia experienced its hottest October since 1910, the United States since 1963 and Africa its warmest ever.

• Four dead in ‘Chernobyl’ like WA bushfires
• What you need to know about the coming heatwave
• The weather ‘double whammy’ hitting us hard

Globally, the average temperature between January and October over land and oceans was 0.86 degrees above the 20th-century average, surpassing 2014’s record by 0.12 degrees, according to the US agency’s report.

A Bureau of Meteorology expert confirmed to The New Daily that such record-breaking heat had increased the nation’s fire risk.

“Having those kinds of extreme temperatures and a lack of rainfall in the winter and spring periods, particularly in the south east and including South Australia, is affecting fire danger ratings,” BOM senior forecaster from the extreme weather desk Claire Yeo said.

The extreme heat has increased the risk of combustion, kept away rainfall that would have impeded flames and created dried-out fuel.

“The fact we haven’t had that rainfall means that the usual fire danger period which in the past has been November to February in south-eastern states, including Tasmania, has been brought forward,” Ms Yeo said.

Here’s an update on fire conditions across the nation.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Sydney – Friday: 41 degrees, Saturday: 23 degrees, Sunday: 23 degrees.

On Friday, a heatwave in NSW is expected to push Sydney’s temperatures to 41 degrees and fuel even hotter conditions across inland areas in the absence of a sea breeze.

The highest November temperature record at Sydney’s Observatory Hill is 41.8 degrees in 1982.

NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Ben Shepherd told the ABC fire risk was not likely to reach extreme across the whole state on Friday.

“The recent rain will keep the fire index low,” Mr Shepherd said.

A southerly wind will drop temperatures to near average by Saturday.

VICTORIA

Melbourne – Friday: 22 degrees, Saturday: 17 degrees, Sunday: 20 degrees.

A cool change will filter through Victoria over the next 24 hours.

These cool conditions will continue for much of the state through the weekend.

Some areas in the state’s north west and north-central area will stay warm.

Swan Hill will be 35 degrees on Friday and Echuca will be 34 degrees.

A total fire ban and a severe bushfire warning has been issued for the Mallee region on Friday.

“Northern Victoria still has severe fire dangers,” Ms Yeo said. 

The Wimmera and Northern Country are rated high bushfire risk, while on Saturday all regions except for Central, West/South Gippland and East Gippsland have a high bushfire warning.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adelaide – Friday: 24 degrees, Saturday 24 degrees, Sunday: 25 degrees.

A cool change will filter through SA over the next 24 hours.

Towns in the southern-central parts of the state will then stay cool over the weekend, but head north of Wimmera, and it will still be warm.

Severe fire danger warnings remain in place for both North Pastoral districts of SA for Friday.

Kangaroo Island and the Lower South East regions have high warnings, while all others are classified low-moderate.

Ms Yeo said there was also a risk of “dry thunderstorms” in SA, meaning lightning strikes could provide an ignition source for fires.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Perth – Friday: 29 degrees, Saturday: 36 degrees, Sunday: 35 degrees.

The death toll from a “Chernobyl” like bushfire at Esperance in southern WA remains at four.

On Thursday evening (AEDT), the DFES said the bushfires had flared up again.

That’s despite temperatures cooling.

Salmon Gums, Grass Patch and areas near Merivale were still particularly at risk.

Earlier, the bushfire was described as “clearly unfightable” by local pilot Rob Rowland.

The latest bushfire alerts in WA were for the Great Southern, Pilbara, Goldfields Midland, Mt Solus, Kimberley and Perth Hills regions.

QUEENSLAND

Brisbane – Friday: 32 degrees, Saturday: 35 degrees, Sunday: 29 degrees.

Queensland will swelter through the weekend, with Brisbane temperatures on the milder side of what most central and northern towns will experience.

The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) has urged people to monitor the heat over coming days.

QAS inspector Pat Berry said the elderly and the very young were particularly vulnerable.

“Even Queensland is going to be experiencing very high fire dangers which is a little bit unusual for this time of the year,” Ms Yeo said.

The north-west Queensland region is warned of a severe fire risk for Saturday, while for a lot of the inner part of the state there are very high warnings.

Click here to see the full maps.

TASMANIA

Hobart – Friday: 22 degrees, Saturday: 18 degrees, Sunday: 20 degrees.

The maximum temperature in Tasmania over the weekend will be 23 degrees in the town of Ross.

Despite that, a large western-central area of the state has been classed as high risk for bushfires over the weekend.

This stretches from as far north as Deloraine and Evandale, right down to Brighton, Campania and areas near Dover.

Click here to see the area on a map. 

-with Anthony Colangelo, Jackson Stiles, AAP and ABC