Millions of people across Australia's two most populous states - Victoria and New South Wales - have been warned to remain on high alert, including in major cities Sydney and Melbourne.

A total fire ban is in place in Victoria and all regions across the state were given a "catastrophic" or "extreme" fire danger rating. "Victorians should brace themselves for more property loss or worse," Country Fire Authority (CFA) chief officer Jason Heffernan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.

Meteorologists have said that conditions are on par with 2019, when bushfires destroyed wide swathes of southeastern Australia, killing 33 people, in what became known as the “Black Summer.” About 450 schools in Victoria were to be closed today and many regional train services were canceled.

Meteorologists say midweek will be most critical period as multiple states likely to experience consecutive days of extreme heat

Australians are gearing up for a second day of scorching temperatures, as the mercury climbs into the high forties in large parts of central and western parts of the country.

Australian authorities on Wednesday issued evacuation warnings as southern regions of the country were hit by a heatwave and bushfires, according to local media reports.

Multiple properties are feared lost to an out-of-control bushfire in central Victoria, as Australia's first heatwave of the year continued to bring high temperatures across the country.