Victoria saw its hottest day on record Tuesday, with the towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup reaching 48.9 C (120F), while the state capital Melbourne passed 45 C (113 F). He said locals in the rural farming community, home to just 700 people, are used to extreme heat. As always, cold beers were on tap in a place where 40 C temperatures are not unusual, he said. “Once you cross 40 C, it doesn’t matter whether it’s 42 or 49 C, it’s just damn hot,” Mccullough told CNN. The extreme heat, monitored over a three-day period from January 7-9, was made 1.6 C hotter because of climate change, the analysis found.