Think It's Hot in NSW? Climate Change? It's Tepid Compared to 1896

And you thought it was hot now? How a 24-DAY heatwave on Australia's east coast in January 1896 saw temperatures climb to 49 degrees and killed 437 people

An extreme 24-day heatwave in January 1896 saw temperatures hit 49C
It saw people fleeing cities and killed 437 people including many children
The maximum temperature was above 38.9 degrees for over three weeks
Hospitals were overcrowded and people were dropping dead in the streets 

By FREYA NOBLE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA 

Temperatures above 38 degrees for nearly a month, bushfires burning across the country and people dropping dead in the streets.

This was the grim reality of a 24-day heatwave which killed 437 people in Australia in January 1896.

The extreme weather event was described as feeling 'like a furnace' and recorded much higher temperatures than the east coast is set to swelter through this week.

An extreme Australian heatwave in January 1896 killed over 400 people and hospitalised many more.

Pictured is Wilcannia Hospital in 1986

A heatwave across Australia's east coast at the weekend has been described as one of the worst in living memory

Many children were among those who died                                 There were temperatures above 119F (48C)

Newspapers at the time reported temperatures above 119F (48C), and that many children were among those who died

It was a hot start to 1896 and by January 14, newspapers were reporting people were dying from a range of complications brought on by the extreme temperatures.

By the third week of the year, 12 infants had died from heat-related illnesses in Goulburn, NSW, alone, a report on JoNova about the heatwave revealed.

People were fleeing the cities on trains to seek refuge in the mountainous regions of the country, and one child escaping the heat 'died at the moment the train arrived'.

Hospitals were at breaking point, and the death toll was rising. 

By January 17 the mercury had climbed to 48.9C in Bourke, in north-west NSW. However there has been some dispute about the accuracy in temperature recordings due to changing methods over time.

'The hospital is crowded, and a number of people are dangerously ill. More deaths are hourly expected,' a newspaper article from January 18, 1896 read.

The heat was sending people 'insane', leaving them helplessly wandering the streets before collapsing.

Cattle died by the hundreds, water tanks dried up and the death toll continued to rise as the heatwave entered its fourth week. 

The historic heatwave saw temperatures climb to 49 degrees and forced people to flee to the mountains

in search of reprieve. Pictured is Brewarrina in 1900

At the weekend the regional town of Urarby in NSW's central-west was wiped out by bushfires

Trains leaving Sydney's west for the mountains were packed and the government ran extra services at discount prices for those seeking relief from the heat.

By January 24 the heatwave was declared 'an unprecedented record', and the death toll in Bourke alone had risen to 35.

'The residents are really panic-stricken, and hundreds are leaving for cooler climates', one report in the newspaper revealed.

Most businesses across NSW had closed their doors by this point, except for hotels, as residents laid low waiting for the streak to break.

In other parts of the country temperatures had not dropped below 37 degrees since late 1895.

More than 120 years later, Sydney and other parts of Australia sweated through one of the worst heatwaves in living memory last week, recording four days over 40 degrees.

The 1896 heatwave saw people dropping dead in the streets as the stifling heat stretched on for 24 days.

In Bourke (seen here in 1893) temperatures were nudging 50C

Sydney's Bondi Beach is seen here during one of the hottest summers on record

Fortunately, Aussies have air-conditioners now, where there is power, unlike the poor sots in 1896.

I wonder what caused that heatwave more than a century ago? Climate change? If that had been attributed to climate change, what madness might it have resulted in?

There were widespread blackouts, bushfires continue to burn around the country, and while this week will bring temporary reprieve, the mercury is set to climb once again.

About 60 fires were still burning on Monday night, including 19 uncontained blazes, and a Watch and Act alert remained in place for the Sir Ivan fire in central west NSW.

Despite a relief for NSW residents, hot temperatures are set to climb again from Wednesday, with a top of 28C forecast for Sydney before reaching 34C by Saturday.

Western suburbs are expected to endure a three-day heatwave, with temperatures set to soar 38C from Thursday. 

Meanwhile, heavy rain, strong winds and hailstorm hit southeast of Queensland overnight.

More than 20,000 homes across the state have been left without power as damaging winds and heavy rainfall continue to move east.