NSW hit by scorching temperatures

Scorching temperatures across NSW have kept emergency crews busy as residents
swelter in the heat and fire threatens homes.
The state's hottest temperature on Thursday - 43.3 degrees celsius - was recorded at
Penrith in Sydney's west at 3.18pm (AEDT), while the mercury passed 40 degrees at
many locations including Bankstown, Campbelltown and Richmond.
Relief came mid-afternoon as a cool front passed over Sydney, but its effect is
unlikely to be long lasting, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says.
"The front is pretty shallow," BoM forecaster Elly Spark said.
Temperatures on Friday are expected to hit 27 degrees Celsius on the coast and up to
35 again in the west.
"But we have a second bite at the cherry with another front coming through tomorrow
afternoon and some cooler temperatures with a maximum of 23 for Saturday," Ms Spark
said.
The temperatures proved too hot for some NSW residents, with ambulance crews called
to more than 12 heat-related jobs around the state.
"We have responded to anything from a five-month-old baby with heat-related symptoms
to a dehydrated 97-year-old man," NSW Ambulance Service spokeswoman Penelope Little
said.
"The calls have come from all over the state - a lot of calls from men on golf
courses, but calls to the beach were the most common."
At Londonderry on Sydney's north-western outskirts, homes were threatened by a scrub
fire which Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews struggled to control amid erratic winds.
Emergency services warned residents not to leave their homes, but to stay and
protect their property.