Australian forecasters have warned the country could be facing its warmest day on record as a summer heatwave moves across the country.

Temperatures are likely to significantly exceed 40C in many areas, according to the country’s Bureau of Meteorology.

The highest ever maximum temperature for the continent stands at 50.7C, set on 2 January 1960.

Health and animal welfare warnings are in place for extreme weather which is expected to affect large portions of the country mostly during the second half of next week.

“We’ve seen extraordinary temperatures over Western Australia over the past few days,” said Diana Eadie of the BOM.

States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Show all 15 1 /15 States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A firefighter works on a bushfire believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike that has ravaged an area of over 2,000 hectares in northern New South Wales state AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A water tanker airplane drops fire retardant on a bushfire in Harrington, New South Wales EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Firefighters tackle a bushfire to save a home in Taree, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A kangaroo is seen by the burnt remains of a vintage car in Torrington Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Photo taken on November 9, 2019 shows bushfires taken from a plane in over north eastern New South Wales AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Andrew Mackenzie surveys the damage around his home in Torrington Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters conduct property protection as a bushfire burns close to homes on Railway Parade in Woodford NSW AP States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) comforts 85-year-old resident Owen Whalan at an evacauation centre in Taree 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Fire burns at Bolivia Hill in Glen Innes Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A resident puts out small fires as he rides his motorcycle in Old Bar, New South Wales EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A fire rages in Bobin, 350km north of Sydney on November 9, 2019, as firefighters try to contain dozens of out-of-control blazes AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Construction workers speak as smoke haze drifts over Sydney, Australia EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A vintage Jaguar car sits in ruins after a bushfire destroyed a property in Old Bar, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A fire rages in Bobin, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images

“They’ll continue over those parts of the country over the weekend.

“As we head towards next weekend, that heat will extend further to the east before really intensifying towards the latter part of next week,” she told the ABC.

“At this stage with these sorts of temperatures that we’re forecasting … it looks like we could break that record over a number of consecutive days towards the end of next week.

“We will potentially see the hottest day on record across all of Australia.”

She said many parts of the country could expect to see temperatures in excess of 45C from Wednesday onwards.

Australia could also see its highest average temperature record broken. This measure takes all the maximum temperatures recorded on single day and finds the average, which currently stands at 40.3C measured on 7 January 2013.

The warning comes as bushfires have devastated tracts of land north of Perth, where residents in some areas have been urged to flee while they still can.

Overall, temperatures are expected to be about 12-16 degrees above average for the season.

Campaigners have also lashed out at Australia’s policy of using old carbon credits assigned to developed economies under the Kyoto Protocol, a precursor to the climate accord, to meet its greenhouse gas targets under the Paris climate agreement.

Britain, Germany, New Zealand and others have all ruled out such an approach, saying it undermines the spirit of the Paris deal.