Extract from ABC News
Updated
As Queenslanders deal with the summer heat today,
records are predicted to tumble on Sunday in the state's south, the
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says.
Temperatures today have been forecast to peak at 36 degrees Celsius in Brisbane and Logan, and 40C in Ipswich.
A number of towns in southern Queensland will spike at above 40C today, including Goondiwindi, which is expected to reach 44C, Cunnamulla at 45C, and Thargomindah and Birdsville to swelter at 46C.
On Sunday, Brisbane and Logan are predicted to reach 39C, while Ipswich will hit 43C.
BOM forecaster Michelle Berry said temperatures on Sunday looked set to break records across the state.
"That includes the Channel Country but even areas like the Granite Belt, the Darling Downs, possibly even inland parts of the south-east coast district," she said.
"We're going to February records tumbling — for instance Birdsville we have a forecast of about 47 degrees for Sunday, which hopefully will be the top."
Queensland's power grid OK thanks to household solar
Meanwhile, Queensland's power grid will withstand the weekend's heatwave thanks to high levels of household solar, a leading energy researcher says.University of Queensland professor Simon Bartlett said the high saturation of rooftop household solar across south-east Queensland reduces the overall load on the power network.
"The combined solar capacity in south-east Queensland is about 1,300 [to] 1,500 megawatts, which is the sort of power you get from a large central power station," he said
"That's being fed into right at the customer's premises so that's reducing the demand.
"The good thing about the Queensland network is it's been tried and proven through some of the natural disasters that get thrown at us.
"Only a few years ago we had floods and cyclones and got through all of those without any state-wide blackouts."
Beaches closed on the Gold Coast
On the Gold Coast, several beaches have been closed and surf lifesavers have been put on high alert as powerful surf and heatwave conditions continue.
After a safety briefing this morning, the decision was made to close Surfers Paradise, Miami, Pacific, Nobbys, Palm Beach, Bilinga and Tugun beaches.
SLSQ Gold Coast spokesman Grahame Long said conditions might prompt lifesavers to close more beaches over the weekend.
"The conditions are quite unstable at the moment across the Gold Coast, with a very high incoming tide causing a surge in waves," he said.
"We strongly urge all beachgoers to only enter the water at patrolled locations between the red and yellow flags."
He said lifesavers would closely monitor conditions across today and early tomorrow morning before a decision was made to reopen beaches.
Look at your pets, vets say
Veterinarians are also asking people to consider their pets during this weekend's heatwave in southern Queensland, and make sure animals had a cool place in the shade and plenty of cold water.Veterinarian Dr Anne Fawcett said owners must monitor their pets.
"Do be careful especially with these successive hot days not to dismiss all signs as just heat related," she said.
"We've had a lot of owners present animals late in the course of clinical disease lately saying things like 'well, I noticed they were drinking a lot more but I thought it was just the heat' and so they kind of dismiss the signs until things were quite advanced."
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