Australia at the point in time is in the grip of severe heatwave and rising temperatures may prompt fire alerts in many areas of South-east where temperatures have crossed 40C (104F). In order to avoid the heatwave, more and more people are hitting the beaches to feel the sea breeze and dip into the water.
People hitting beaches to lessen the effects of heatwave
In Victoria, lightning strikes sparked more than 250 fires on Tuesday night, fire authorities said. A fire ban has been issued across the state.
Already the players at Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne are seen drenched in sweat and seen uneasy playing in soaring temperatures despite the matches being planned in late night hours. It is reported that a tennis player and a ball boy collapsed in the heat. One of the tennis players Ivan Dodig retired from his second-round match as high temperatures continue to be a major issue at the Australian Open. He said: 'I feared I might die in Melbourne heat.'
It has been learnt that a heat policy has been issued that there would be no matches of the Australian Open before 6:00 PM.
In the meanwhile, fire fighters have been able to contain most of the fires in the state, although a number of fires remain out of control.
9:12 AM
Jalal Hameed Bhatti
