Australia beats hottest day record by full degree

A boy jumps into the Penrith river during a heatwave in Sydney on December 19, 2019. Photo by Farooq KHAN / AFP

SYDNEY — Australia set a record for its hottest day ever for a second straight day, with an average national maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 Fahrenheit), a full degree higher than the previous mark, officials said Thursday.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the new nationally averaged maximum was reached Wednesday, topping the 40.9 degrees hit Tuesday, which beat the previous record of 40.3 C in January 2013.

As the heatwave continued, Thursday saw the highest December temperature ever reached in Australia when the West Australian town of Eucla hit 49.8 degrees celsius (121.6 Fahrenheit).

The previous hottest December day was 49.5 degrees celsius in Birdsville, Queensland, in 1972.

The heatwave has exacerbated an unprecedented, drought-fueled series of bushfires ravaging large areas of Australia.