Australia gripped in endless summer as heat breaks records

A heatwave has Australia gripped in a seemingly endless summer, with a run of record-breaking temperatures even as autumn officially begins.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the abnormal conditions were affecting almost the entire country in early March, the month which marks the start of autumn.

A lack of rain and cooler winds left the east coast suffering a prolonged stretch of hot and humid weather, it said in a special climate statement released on Friday.