Punters are enjoying warm, clear weather at the Melbourne Cup as Victoria experiences temperatures up to six degrees above average.

Temperatures reached 19.5 degrees in Melbourne at midday, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting they would rise to 25 degrees by the time racing began at 3 p.m.

Conditions will remain dry and sunny until late in the evening.

Forecaster Jonathan How said the temperature in Victoria was up to six degrees above average.

“You get to the mid-20s in the south and the 30s in the north,” he said.

Warm and hot conditions are being felt across most of Australia, with the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland currently under a heatwave warning.

How he said the rural town of Birdsville, Queensland, would be the hottest in the country at 44 degrees today.

The bureau has issued fire warnings for Western Australia and South Australia.

How said there would therefore be a risk of severe thunderstorms in areas of north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland.

The mercury is expected to continue to rise tomorrow.

“The focus will be on Victoria and New South Wales, where the maximum temperature is even higher than today,” How said.

“At this stage we are expecting temperatures of up to 30°C for northern Victoria and southern NSW and up to 40°C for northern NSW .

“Hot days and hot nights will also continue across south and west Queensland, where we are seeing heatwave conditions of severe intensity locally.”

How did he say there would be a nice change starting in South Australia tomorrow before reaching Victoria in the afternoon and New South Wales overnight or Thursday morning.