Adelaide sweltered in its hottest ever day today as the summer heatwave continued to send weather records tumbling.
By early afternoon the mercury had hit 46.3C centigrade, compared with the previous record of 46.2C set in 1939.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology was tipping even hotter weather in other areas of the state, with the temperature forecast to peak at 49C in Port Augusta.
Overnight temperatures in Adelaide topped 31C with a code red alert issued for homeless services allowing them to provide extra support for those on the streets.
At least 44 people were treated in hospital emergency departments for heat-related illnesses, many of them kept in for further treatment
South Australia’s Country Fire Services duty commander Yvette Dowling warned that many outlying areas were in danger from the extreme heat.
“The communities are at risk, our fire fighters are at risk, all emergency services are at risk,” she told local media.
As many as 200 bushfires were reported to be burning in south eastern Australia.
In some parts of the country, local authorities were forced to carry out an emergency animal cull.
Rangers in the Northern Territory said that more than 90 wild horses had died in the outback close to a dried-up waterhole.
In Western Australia, as many as 2,500 camels have been shot since December, the ABC reported.
According to farmers, the camels are running in "plague proportions" and are in a poor condition.
Meanwhile at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, the roof of the Rod Laver Arena was closed as temperatures were predicted to reach 43C.
Earlier this month, up to a million dead fish were found floating last week in the Darling River in western New South Wales and the state government said 1,800 more rotting fish had since been found in Lake Hume in the state's south.
