Australia just had its hottest day ever on record — and may surpass that new high before the week is out.

A massive heatwave is sweeping across Australia, further fuelling the enormous bushfires ravaging the country. Preliminary results from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology report that Tuesday, Dec. 17 was the hottest day Australia's had since records began, with an inhospitable average maximum of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.6 Fahrenheit).

UPDATE, 4.30 p.m. AEDT: The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed that Wednesday, Dec. 18 did beat the previous day's record, with an average temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.42 Fahrenheit) across the country.

Australia's previous temperature record before this week was set in Jan. 2013, which saw an average maximum of 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 Fahrenheit).

Temperatures in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory climbed to over 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit) in various locations, but the hottest place in Australia was Birdsville, Queensland, which hit 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.9 Fahrenheit) by the afternoon — just three degrees Celsius short of the all-time single-location temperature record (50.7 Celsius, recorded in Oodnadatta way back in 1960).

Unfortunately, this heat wave is expected to continue for the rest of the week, with South Australia and Victoria peaking on Friday, and Sydney roasting in the mid-40s on Saturday. By early afternoon local time on Thursday, parts of Sydney had already registered temperatures of 41 degrees Celsius.

"There's a high possibility that Australia will have its hottest day on record not only for one day, but possibly four days in a row we may see the hottest day on record," BOM meteorologist Paul Lainio said earlier this week.

The country is just under three weeks into summer.

Preliminary results suggest that the 17th December was Australia's hottest day on record at 40.9 ºC, with the average maximum across the country as a whole, exceeding the previous record of 40.3 ºC on the 7th January 2013. https://t.co/TKwWBuFPgJ pic.twitter.com/xOFpokoXos — Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 18, 2019

Australians are being warned to stay in a cool place, keep hydrated, and be alert for signs of heatstroke. However, heatstroke isn't the only danger these high temperatures pose. The oppressive heatwave, persistent lack of rain, and high winds are creating "catastrophic" conditions, dangerously feeding Australia's already out-of-control bushfires.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency on Thursday morning as Sydney again woke up smothered in smoke, the air quality well above hazardous levels. "We don’t take these declarations lightly," said Berejiklian. "We only take them when the conditions are so severe that we want everybody to be alert."

For the next seven days, the NSW Rural Fire Service will have extra powers, including the ability to direct any NSW government agency to halt its operation, control government resources, shut down utilities such as electricity and water, and take possession of property.

This is the second time in just over a month that a state of emergency has been declared in NSW. The last state of emergency before that was six years ago, in Oct. 2013.

"The biggest concern for us over the next few days is the unpredictability, with extreme wind conditions [and] extreme hot temperatures," said Berejiklian.

RFS spokesperson Angela Burford has said they are currently worried about "the entire perimeter of Sydney," and that conditions across NSW are extremely dangerous. "These fires have the potential to flare up and run, and they have been creeping towards built-up residential areas."

According to Berejiklian, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison hasn't been told of the decision to announce a state of emergency in the country's most populous state. Despite the fact Australia is literally on fire, Morrison is currently overseas on a family holiday — a move that has drawn significant criticism and resulted in the trending hashtag #wherethebloodyhellareya.

A climate protest at the prime minister's official Sydney residence today has since turned into an impromptu sit in, with activists planning to stay until the prime minister returns from his holiday. Morrison has been widely condemned over his handling of the crisis, particularly due to his refusal to offer financial support for volunteer firefighters, and his claim that they "want to be there."

Australia's bushfires have been raging since July, destroying over 7.6 million acres in NSW and Queensland alone — an area roughly the size of Belgium, or the U.S. state of Maryland. Six people have been killed, almost 800 homes destroyed, and native wildlife populations devastated. The fires are expected to continue to burn for months, with the forecast predicting below-average rainfall until at least March.

Demonstrators gather outside PM Scott Morrison’s house in Sydney to ask #wherethebloodyhellareya and demand climate action as Australia faces unprecedented bushfires pic.twitter.com/rhF3dzpGV4 — Aine Fox (@aine_fox) December 18, 2019

Climate activists plan to set up a tent city outside Kirribilli House and stay until Scott Morrison returns @SBSNews #wherethebloodyhellareya pic.twitter.com/bBNFvMJdMO — Rosemary Bolger (@rose_bolger) December 18, 2019

Please, tell us more about how climate change isn't real.