The mercury hit 43C at Sydney Airport just before 3pm as it came close to climbing to a record 43.4C set back in 1982.Strong north westerly winds kept the sea breeze at bay, which is why the city reached 40.8C just after 3pm just shy of the all-time record of 41.8C.The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting 40C on Sunday before southerly winds sweep in about 3pm cooling the heat about 10c in an hour.Overnight temperatures are expected to reach 25C but the good news is by Sunday night, temperatures will drop to 17C.

Just before 1pm temperatures in Bankstown and Penrith both broke through the 40C mark, with all areas of Sydney sitting between 37-40C throughout Saturday.Records were broken in Albury Airport, which recorded 41.8C. The previous record was 40.9C last year. Griffith Airport broke its record, hitting 43.2C — the hottest in the area since 1997.In Sydney beachgoers were warned they could be turned away as thousands flocked to beaches to cool off.

Further inland five rural cities recorded their hottest ever on Friday night into Saturday, including Bourke (30C), Cobar (28.9C), Lake Cargelligo (28C), Yanco (27.2C) and Condobolin (27.9C).

Waverley Council said the Bondi car park had filled to capacity by 10.30am, and further south the Wattamolla Beach carpark had filled by 11am.Waverley Council warned in the lead up to the weekend it would be managing numbers at its three beaches to ensure COVID-19 rules were being met.“We will be making sure our beaches don’t get too crowded and that everyone can enjoy our beautiful public spaces safely,” lifeguard services and beach safety manager, Matt du Plessis, said.“If you intend to use our beaches, parks and outdoor spaces and they look busy, please reconsider your trip and come back another time when it is less busy.“If we do reach capacity, then access to the sand will be restricted until numbers stabilise so that everyone has a turn.”

Sydney guzzled a predicted 2GL of water on Saturday, which is the equivalent of 800 Olympic sized swimming pools, and the most in 2020 so far, according to Sydney Water.Ausgrid had also recorded a load on its Sydney network 59 per cent higher than the same time last week by 3pm Saturday but said that may not be heat-related.
* Additional reporting by Anton Rose

TOP SYDNEY TEMPS
Sydney Airport 43.0 2:54pmBankstown 41.9 3:07pmHolsworthy 41.8 2:38pmPenrith 41.5 2:04pm Sydney Olympic Park 41.5 3:09pmObservatory Hill 40.8 3:02pm Canterbury 40.7 3:14pmCamden 40.7 2:29pm Horsley Park 40.5 3.03pm Sydney Harbour 39.9 2:59pm
TOP NSW TEMPS
Smithville 46.7 3:55pmMildura 45.7 2:53pmWilcannia 46 3:57pmMulurulu 45.1 2:25pmFowlers Gap 45.7 3:58pmHay 45.5 1:46pmSwan Hill 44.7 3:07pmIvanhoe Airport 45.4 3:52pmBroken Hill 44.5 3:15pmTibooburra Airport 45.3 3:11pm



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