Heat records tumble in Victoria as authorities warn against complacency amid significant blazes

BoM to check if Walpeup and Hopetoun broke state's official heat record - set during 2009's Black Saturday

• What happens to the human body in 49C heat? Australians are finding out

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Victoria may have sweltered through its hottest temperatures on record, with preliminary readings of 48.9C at two locations in the state's north-west both higher than that recorded during 2009's Black Saturday.

According to initial data recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology, the Mallee towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup reached 48.9C on Tuesday afternoon. This would exceed the previous highest temperature of 48.8C, recorded at Hopetoun on 7 February 2009.