The BBC reports an approximately 150-mile fire is currently burning north-west of Sydney, trigger evacuations in areas of New South Wales (NSW). The fires come after temperatures reportedly hit 40C in some areas.

NSW’s rural fire service has enforced an emergency fire warning owing to a "large bush fire" burning in Tambaroora, which it said was spreading "in a number of directions". Two other fire alerts are in place in NSW.

The Australian government’s Bureau of Meteorology said hot, windy and mostly dry conditions were "leading to significant fire dangers" in eastern and northern NSW, with the "severe heatwave conditions" not due to ease until Wednesday into Thursday.

Monday had been due to be Sydney’s hottest March day since March 2020, and the city’s hottest since January 2021. By contrast, Sydney recorded its wettest year since records began last year, causing widespread flooding and displacement.

The so-called "black summer" of 2019/20, which saw bushfires sweep across large swathes of Australia, claimed 33 lines and killed an estimated three billion animals and birds, according to the BBC.

The fires impacted summer tourism to Australia, with the effects compounded by the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020 and a subsequent two-year border closure.