*Sydney swelters with near-record high temperature*

*Sydney swelters with near-record high temperature*

Sydney endured its hottest temperature in nearly 80 years on Sunday, Australian meteorologists say. The mercury rose to 47.3 degrees Celsius, or 117.14 Fahrenheit, in the Sydney metropolitan area. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the area was 47.8 Celsius degrees (118.04 Fahrenheit) in 1939, the Bureau of Meteorology for the state of New South Wales (NSW) said.

The agency had predicted that temperatures would soar, tweeting: "Are we forecasting all-time record high temperatures today? No, but it would not surprise if some stations go close."

So, while brutally cold temperatures hit the US, emergency services in Sydney prepared residents on the other side of the equator for dangers of a different sort.

Temperatures cooled slightly on Monday with showers forecast to provide some relief. In the western Sydney suburb of Penrith, where the high of 47.3 degrees Celsius was recorded Sunday, the maximum forecast slipped to 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit).