Australia is in the grips of an exceptional December heatwave - with temperatures soaring so high that roads have begun melting.
Some towns in the state of South Australia almost reached 50C on Thursday, and Nullarbor set the December record for the state, reaching 49.9C - the fourth hottest temperature in the country's history.
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In Port Augusta, the council had to advise people to avoid certain roads due to the fact they were melting.
In a post on Facebook, the council said: "Please be aware that due to the extreme heat some roads are showing signs of bleeding, a contractor has been engaged to spread rocks over problem areas.
"McConnal Road, Alma Street, Forster Street and Cobbin Street have all shown signs of bleeding. The roads should be avoided and only used by local residents - please take an alternate route during this extreme weather."
Meanwhile in Adelaide, people without air con will have struggled getting to sleep during the hottest night on record, with the temperature never dropping below 33.6C.
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In total, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said December temperature records had been toppled in more than a dozen locations, with many of these locations recording all-time highs.
A state of emergency was declared in New South Wales on Thursday morning as firefighters tackled almost 100 bushfires, and there are fears that high winds could further exacerbate these fires.
Nice try @BOM_Qld and @BOM_WA but it looks like the December record will stay with us for now! 49.9°C at Nullarbor at 4:54pm, preliminary data puts this as the 4th highest temp on record (all months) in Australia. 🌡️🥵 Obs at: bom.gov.au/sa/observation… twitter.com/BOM_WA/status/…
Yes @BOM_Qld WA did take the Australian Dec Max Temp record off you with Eucla reaching 49.7°C at 12:23pm today. This was also the hottest day on record for Eucla. However, this crown was only held for < 2 hrs before Nullarbor in @BOM_SA took it off our hands with 49.8°C.
On Tuesday, the nation recorded its hottest ever nationwide average high of 40.9C, breaking the previous record of 40.3C. However, the new record was surpassed the next day as the national average high reached 41.9C.
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Officials at the BOM project that 2019 will be one of the four hottest years in the country since records began.
The prime minister Scott Morrison has apologised to citizens after he came under heavy fire on social media for going on holiday during the crisis.
He said: "I deeply regret any offence caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with family at this time."
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Port Augusta City CouncilTopics: Weather, World News, Australia