SYDNEY, Australia — At a dried-up waterhole in Australia’s far north, wild horses were found dead or dying. In cities in the southeast, power outages darkened traffic lights and shopping malls, and office workers and commuters were left exhausted and wilted.

On the island of Tasmania, more than 50 wildfires were burning, and farmers were bracing for more. And in Elizabeth North, a town north of Adelaide, the Red Lion Hotel promised free beer if the temperature reached 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) — and then had to deliver.

“I got three marriage proposals, the problem was all of them were dudes over 60 years old,” said Stephen Firth, the pub’s manager.

Australia — again — is in the midst of one of its hottest summers on record. In the southeast, where most people live, aging coal-powered plants struggled to cope with demand on Friday, with more than 160,000 households temporarily losing power.