Washington, Dec 23
Millions of residents and visitors in southeast Australia have been warned to brace for catastrophic bushfire conditions over the Christmas period.
Authorities on Monday declared a total fire ban for greater Sydney and northern regions of the state of New South Wales (NSW) due to the threat posed by high temperatures and strong winds, reports news agency.
It comes ahead of a period of forecast extreme danger across Australia's southeast.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has forecasted that temperatures in Sydney, Melbourne in the southeastern state of Victoria and Adelaide in South Australia will exceed 35 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Saturday.
In Victoria and South Australia, authorities have warned that conditions on Thursday will pose a catastrophic bushfire threat, with strong winds expected to make it more challenging to contain fires.
Dozens of bushfires are already burning across the three states, which together account for 62 per cent of the Australian population, including a fire in the Grampians National Park in western Victoria that has triggered evacuation warnings for several towns.