Hello from Penrith, where the Bureau of Meteorology says it’s 37.9 degress.
But in the carpark of the Panthers Penrith Rugby Club, where people are heading to escape to heat, we’ve recorded a “feels like” temperature – what the human body actually experiences the heat like – of 51.3 degrees.
An infrared thermal image of journalist Anthony Segaert touching woodchips in the sun at Penrith Panthers car park around 11:30am, which reached 75.3C. January 10, 2026. Credit: Max Mason-Hubers
This difference between what we’re feeling and the official figure – which is taken from a large observation station with metres of grass around it, for consistency of measurements around the world – is significant.
And that’s before we measure surface temperatures: the sides of cars are as hot as 79.8 degrees. So today, we’re travelling throughout Sydney’s west and north-west with scientific equipment to measure precisely how people are experiencing today’s heat.
The same image of Penrith Panthers carpark, without the heat map. Credit: Max Mason-Hubers
We’re using a heat stress tracker, a machine that records highly accurate data on wind, humidity, temperature and more, and an infrared thermal imaging camera, which measures surface temperatures.
Because of its geography and how the city has developed, Sydney’s west and north-west experiences the worst of the heat. We’ll bring you updates from each location we visit as we go.
