Australia Weather News

Large parts of northern Australia will swelter through severe heatwave conditions this weekend, with warnings for people to stay indoors amid fears of a spike in heat-related illnesses.

"We are seeing a huge bubble of hot air just lingering," the Bureau of Meteorology's Jenny Sturrock said.

"When we're getting many hot days followed by hot nights, that's really increasing the heat stress and we've seen that reflected in our heat wave warnings."

Ms Sturrock said earlier in the week that October records were broken in the Queensland outback town of Birdsville on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 46.1 degrees Celsius.

She said daytime maximum temperatures and overnight minimums were between three to eight degrees above average for this time of year.

"Right through the weekend we're not seeing anything too significant to make a big dent in that," she said.

"From early next week from Tuesday onwards we are expecting a flush out of the heat."

In the Northern Territory, Katherine is predicted to reach 41 degrees on Friday, with temperatures dropping to 34 degrees by Wednesday.

Ms Sturrock said in Emerald in central Queensland, temperatures were forecast to hit 41 degrees of Friday, but would fall by 12 degrees to a high of 29 from Tuesday.

Heat-related illness

The Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service is urging the public to be mindful of their health and stay indoors where possible.

Public health doctor Renata Vasta said it was likely hospitals would see a spike in patients stricken by the heat.

"Certainly in those high-risk groups, where people haven't been aware that they have needed to increase their hydration in these periods, so there is an increase in presentations," Dr Vasta said.

Dr Vasta said the health service was monitoring conditions with extra staff to be brought in if needed.

Rockhampton Zoo has been using icy treats, misting systems and sprinklers to keep animals cool.

"We've recently gotten a couple of new chimps form Sydney Zoo, and this will be their first Rockhampton in summer, so I imagine it's going to be a bit of a shock to their system for sure," Rockhampton Zoo curator Tegan Gargett said.

"It's not unusual to see a keeper standing right near a mister too."