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THE extreme heat is back.
Temperature gauges will again be pushed to the limit, with most of this week forecast to hover around 40 degrees in Bendigo. But the Bureau of Meteorology said the weather won’t be quite as intense as the record-equalling spell of hot weather two weeks ago.
“It’s basically going to be very dry and with very little relief at nights," duty forecaster Peter Newham said.
"Most days have little, if any, chance of rain.”
Wednesday is expected to offer a brief respite with a top of 34 degrees in Bendigo before 40 degrees, 41 and 42 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Mr Newham said Bendigo’s recent heatwave was the most extreme hot weather conditions since January and February 2009, in the lead-up to the Black Saturday bushfires.
The city had four straight days above 42 degrees between January 14 and 17 this year, which equalled the 2009 record for consecutive days above 40 degrees.
The weather has prompted warnings from emergency services calling for people to take proper precautions.
It has also sparked calls from power providers for people to limit their electricity usage.
Thousands of Victorians were recently without power as the grid struggled to cope with surging demand.
The Australian Energy Market Operator said people should continue to monitor power supply and turn off non-essential appliances.
The City of Greater Bendigo said all residents were encouraged to stay indoors if possible, especially on the days when the forecast may be over 40 degrees.
Bendigo Health emergency medicine physician Nathan Bushby said the emergency department saw a broader range of heat-affected patients than usual due to the heat.
"We are looking at a 40 to 50 per cent increase in our workload," he said.