The mercury climbed to 43.5 degrees on Friday and 43 degrees again on Saturday, after a top of 39.6 degrees on Thursday.

On Sunday, while maximums of 40 degrees were tipped again, by mid-afternoon, the temperature hadn’t managed to reach above 37 degrees.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron said cloud cover and a few spots of rain kept Sunday’s temperature down, but it still followed a string of hot days.

“It was still a run of very hot days across the Bendigo area and across all of northern Victoria really,” he said.

Firefighters battled a large blaze on Saturday afternoon north of Daylesford, where about 250 hectares of farmland was burnt at Smeaton.

Events were cancelled and sport was called off as the weather intensified during the day and people were urged to stay well-hydrated, never leave children, pets or people in cars, keep cool and plan ahead.

It got so hot that one resident baked cookies in her car on the dashboard - well-baked in an hour, she said.

Friday was the hottest day since January 14, 2014, where Bendigo reached a top temperature of 43.8 degrees.

The last time Bendigo had consecutive 40-plus degree days was in February last year, with two days above 41 degrees.

In 2014, Bendigo faced two sets of heatwaves, with the 40-plus degree weather stretching for four days at a time on both occasions.

Some slight relief is in sight with maximum temperatures expected to fall to the mid-30s for the working week, before climbing back up to 41 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

Mr Efron said there was a risk of a shower or thunderstorm on Monday, but no significant rain to come.

“It’s just a bit of a nuisance with a potential to cause fires across the state,” he said.

“There’s no significant relief on the way – temperatures don’t even get back to the low 30s.”

Bendigo is forecast to reach 36 degrees on Monday, 35 on both Tuesday and Wednesday, 37 on Thursday and 39 degrees for Australia Day on Friday.

Overnight temperatures will be stifling towards the end of the week as well, with lows of mid-20s predicted for both Friday and Saturday nights.