Australia swelters in a record heat wave as temperatures near 50 C

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Parts of Australia sweltered in record temperatures of close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday as the country sweated through a prolonged heat wave.

The rural towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup in Victoria state registered preliminary highs of 48.9 C (120 F), which if confirmed overnight would top records set on the day in 2009 when 173 people were killed in the state’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires.

No casualties were reported from Tuesday’s heat wave, but Victoria authorities urged caution as three forest fires burned out of control.

Melbourne, the state’s largest city, also came close to its hottest day. Nowhere perhaps was the searing heat more evident than at Melbourne Park, where the usual crowds thronging outside the Australian Open tennis tournament dwindled to a ghost town as temperatures soared.

Inside, organizers enacted extreme heat protocols, forcing closure of the retractable roofs over the main arenas and postponement of matches on the uncovered outer courts. During Tuesday’s quarterfinal between Aryna Sabalenka and Iva Jovic — the last match played under scorching sun — the players held ice packs to their heads and portable fans to their faces during breaks in play.

Photographers shooting the match were supplied with cushions by organizers to avoid heat-related injuries when they sat down and covered their cameras with towels to prevent the devices malfunctioning in the heat or burning their hands. Fans lined up to stand in front of giant misting fans or sought shelter in air-conditioned areas of the venue.

Crowds at the event, which has registered record-breaking turnout days so far, dropped from 50,000 from Monday’s daytime session to 21,000 on Tuesday as people heeded health warnings from officials and stayed home.

Temperatures were expected to drop Wednesday, although the heat wave was due to linger until the weekend. The heat wave followed another earlier this month amid one of Australia’s hottest ever summers.

On Monday, parts of New South Wales and South Australia states hit record temperatures, some exceeding records set during a destructive summer of forest fires in 2019.

Fans sit in the shade as they watch quarterfinal matches on a video screen at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Fans walk and ride bikes through a water mister at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Fans cool down in front of water misters at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus places ice packs to her face during her quarterfinal match against to Iva Jovic of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Tuesday, according to its neighbors, as the North heightens animosities with rival South Korea ahead of a major political meeting.

South Korea's military said it detected liftoffs of several ballistic missiles from an area northeast of the North Korean capital Pyongyang before the missiles each flew about 350 kilometers (217 miles).

Japan’s Defense Ministry said two ballistic missiles launched from North Korea and landed off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. The ministry condemned the launches as a threat to the peace of Japan, the region and the international community.

South Korea's military said it maintains a firm readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea.

The launches were the first time North Korea fired weapons since testing what it called hypersonic missiles in early January. In December, the country test fired what it called long-range, strategic cruise missiles and new anti-air missiles and released photos showing the apparent construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine.

North Korea has engaged in a run of weapons launches to enlarge its nuclear and missile arsenals since talks with the U.S. and South Korea stalled in 2019. Experts say the North's leader Kim Jong Un believes a bigger weapons arsenal would give him greater leverage to win concessions from the U.S.

North Korea's recent displays were likely meant to demonstrate or review its weapons development achievements ahead of the upcoming ruling Workers’ Party congress, analysts said.

The congress, expected to start in February, would be the first of its kind in five years and is one of North Korea's biggest propaganda spectacles used to set up new political and economic priorities.

North Korea recently threatened retaliation over what it called South Korean surveillance drone flights across the border, one earlier in January and another in September. The South Korean government denied operating any drones during the times specified by North Korea and began probing if civilians sent them.

The accusations likely were driven by the North’s efforts to dial up anti-South Korea sentiments ahead of the congress, when Kim's previous declaration of a hostile “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula could be added to the party constitution, analysts said.

Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the completion of a first-stage modernization project at the Ryongsong Machine Complex in North Korea Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)