Australia swelters in biggest heatwave since 2001

Australia is facing its most wide- ranging heatwave in more than a decade as 80 percent of the continent is hit by temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the Bureau of Meteorology said.

State emergency services have flagged the risk of wildfires that could threaten homes and farms, while power companies are bracing for increased demand for electricity. The extreme weather, caused by a mass of hot air, has spread east from Western Australia and is expected to affect the most populous states of Victoria and New South Wales in the next week.