Heatwaves continue to hit Australia

And the Australian Capital Territory is bracing for another day of blistering hot temperatures. According to the BoM, temperatures in Canberra are expected to hit 41 degree centigrade on Friday.

Even Tasmania's capital city Hobart is set to swelter through extreme heat on Friday with the temperature tipped to reach almost 40 in the city. The BoM forecast a temperature of 38 degree centigrade in Hobart, before a cool change and possible thunderstorm move through Friday evening.

And a fire ban has been declared for south-eastern states. As heatwaves raged in south-eastern Australia almost the whole week, more than 100 bushfires are burning across Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.

So far, In Victoria, there are 72 bushfires with 43 of them burning out of control; in South Australia hundreds of firefighters are battling around 16 blazes; and in NSW there are almost 50 blazes burning with 12 of them out of control.

People in these states also suffered the extreme temperatures. According to local media, Ambulance Victoria recorded 13 cases of heat exhaustion and seven cardiac arrests from midnight until 6.30 a.m. (AEDT). In the previous 24 hours, another 163 heat exhaustion cases, 37 cardiac arrests and nine cases of children locked in cars were reported.

As people tried to beat the heat, power use also set a record.

For instance, power use of Victoria surged to 10,300 megawatts on Thursday afternoon, its highest level yet during this week's hot spell. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is expecting demand to top 10,000 megawatts again but the state has more power reserves after one of four generators at Loy Yang A power station broke down Wednesday.