BATHURST woke to smoke on Thursday and sweltered through a day that pushed past 38 degrees as a promised heatwave arrived in the city.
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The city had reached 30 degrees by 10am, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and was 38.2 degrees at just past 2pm.
That broke the record of 37.8 degrees for a December maximum that itself had only been set last week.
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The December record is likely to topple again over coming days as Bathurst is forecast to reach 40 degrees on Friday and 41 degrees on Saturday - close to the 41.5 degrees that is the city's hottest day at any time of the year, which was set in February 2017.
Sunday is predicted to be 33 degrees.
Western NSW Local Health district manager for health protection Priscilla Stanley urged the people of the region to "take the risk of heat-related illness seriously" this week.
"We know that conditions like these can cause severe illness, hospital admission and even deaths," she said.
"Heat puts a lot of strain on the body and can cause dehydration, heat stress and heat stroke."
She said people over 75, people with chronic medical conditions and those living alone are "particularly vulnerable".
