Australia swelters in extreme heat as rare cyclone heads towards northern coast

() – A tropical cyclone has rapidly intensified off Australia’s northern coast as millions of people across the country endure a heatwave that is expected to last into the weekend.

Tropical Cyclone Jasper strengthened Friday to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum winds of 220 mph (730 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

“Further strengthening is possible on Friday and a Category 5 system cannot be ruled out,” the country’s meteorological office said.

Jasper is the earliest Category 4 tropical cyclone to form in the Coral Sea since records began in 1900, according to a investigation of storm tracks kept by the National Hurricane Center.

The storm, which is located 1,195 kilometres northeast of Queensland and moving south at 9 km/h, could reach the coast near Cairns, a city of 250,000 inhabitants, with maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h early on Tuesday.

However, meteorologists say its path could change.

The storm’s arrival is unusually early during El Niño, a weather pattern that originates in the Pacific Ocean along the equator and typically reduces rainfall along Australia’s east coast.

The system has affected weather around the world this year and may particularly impact storm seasons.

Heat warnings are in effect in several states and territories, including New South Wales, home to more than eight million people.

Temperatures in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

Some Sydney schools were forced to close on Friday and parts of New South Wales banned bonfires altogether due to the increased risk of bushfires.

A “catastrophic” fire risk rating was issued for parts of South Australia on Friday, the highest on the scale, indicating loss of life and property is likely if a fire breaks out.

Extreme levels of fire danger were recorded in parts of New South Wales and Victoria.

The heat is expected to ease somewhat by the end of the weekend and early next week.

Australia is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, with frequent heat waves, extreme rainfall and devastating wildfires.

Earlier this year, more than 20 Sydney Marathon runners were hospitalised due to a heatwave during Australia’s warmest winter since records began in 1910.

Ski resorts, including Perisher, the country’s largest, also closed early due to lack of snow.

Fears were particularly high as memories of the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires of 2020 – the country’s worst in decades – remain etched in the minds of millions of Australians.

The fires burned 10 million hectares, killed dozens of people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes.