The incredible heat that roasted Sydney locals this weekend left many with no choice but to get creative with how to stay cool.
Ahead of the heatwave, a heartbreaking thread emerged on social media that traded tips on low cost ways to manage the heat without using aircon.
A renter who asked how others were coping shared a photo of the method they had adopted.
They had their feet in a tub filled with water and were sitting in front of a pedestal fan with a wet towel draped over it.
The renter, based in Penrith which reached 43.9 degrees on Saturday, said the hack was “really good for dropping my temperature very fast”.
In addition, they “covered over the balcony in 70 per cent shade cloth” but asked for ideas on alternate ways they could keep their house cool.
Respondents weighed in with heartbreaking measures they turned to during extreme heat, with countless saying they had to leave home and go somewhere cool like the shopping centre.
“Going for a drive to use the AC,” one person responded.
“I just wear ice pack vest and change it every three hours. Never understood why people are so reluctant to use them when they work so well,” another wrote.
“Wet tea towel. Wring as much of the water out as possible, stick in freezer and then put it around the neck,” someone else said.
One claimed they left Sydney for Melbourne to avoid the heat.
“I flew to Melbourne for the day. 16 degrees, and wet. Will be back Monday when it’s bearable,” they said.
Another described the lengths they went to in an effort to stop heat getting into their house.
“I bought black out sheets for our windows on the sunny side of our house – I’ve stuck it on the outside. I have black out blinds inside but light and heat still came through the edges. It’s been good! Sitting in 22c though our air is set to 25c, outside is currently 41c,” their comment read.
By 4pm (AEDT) on Saturday, there were 85 fires burning in NSW as Sydney recorded its hottest December day on record – with records going back to 1929.
The mercury at Sydney Airport peaking at 43.5C just after 1pm.
The old record was 43.2C, which stood since 1994.
Suburbs in the outer west got even hotter, as expected, but not quite to record-breaking temperatures.
Badgerys Creek Creek hit 44C, and Richmond, Penrith, and Holsworthy came dangerously close to the same temperature.
Ahead of the weekend, a meteorologist warned people the heatwave could be “the most uncomfortable of their life so far” with it expected to feel as hot as 60C in some places.
The BOM advised people to keep cool, stay indoors or in airconditioned spaces like shopping centres, and to close curtains to keep the heat out.