Most capital cities in Australia will experience warm weather on Christmas Day, with temperatures in the high 20s and into the 30s, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. 

Slight chance of rain is only expected in some parts of northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. 

Sydney will also experience a warm Christmas, with a maximum of 27 degrees and sunny conditions. 

However, the Bureau estimates that Sydney will experience showers in the weekend leading up to Christmas. 

“The heatwave that is forecast to stretch from the north-west of Western Australia all the way to central New South Wales later this week will still be making its presence felt, as hot, dry air lingers, brining very high temperatures to many inland regions,” Meteorologist Grace Legge said. 

“Heat will be dragged through much of the country for Christmas, though sea breezes may keep some coastal areas a little cooler than inland parts,” Ms Legge said. “Through southern Victoria and Tasmania temperatures are a little hard to predict with the timing of a cool southerly change that will determine the Christmas maximum.” 

Northern parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory will experience a scorcher, with the temperature possibly reaching up to 40-plus in some areas.