The weather bureau is forecasting little relief from hot and dry conditions for the rest of this year and into January.

The bureau’s updated three-month seasonal outlook predicts a 60 to 70 per cent chance of below average rainfall for most of Queensland and the Northern Territory, as well as northern parts of New South Wales and South Australia.

Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia are likely to get normal summer rainfall, but most of the country is forecast to get warmer than average days and nights.

The bureau’s manager of climate services, Andrew Watkins, says the conditions will maintain the bushfire risk.

“Look, the current outlook in terms of rainfall and temperature for those areas is tending to be average, to drier than average, and also warmer, so unfortunately it hasn’t really backed off those odds.

“We still would expect there to be higher fire potential over large parts of eastern Australia over the coming months.”