Victorians have sweated through temperatures up to 15 degrees higher than usual and have been warned to expect another hot and oppressive night as the state swelters through unusually humid conditions.
Temperatures in Melbourne reached a sultry 37.8 degrees Celsius at about 3:40pm (AEDT) today and regional areas got well into the 40s.
The conditions took a toll on the power grid, with almost 14,000 people still without power at 8pm (AEDT), according to United Energy.
It comes after a a hot Saturday night in Melbourne, with the mercury only falling to a muggy 23C at 3:10am on Sunday morning.
But it will be even worse on Sunday night, with the forecast minimum a sweltering 27C.
Forecaster Stuart Coombs said there would not be any relief until Monday afternoon, when a cool change was expected.
"[It will be] extremely uncomfortable conditions, I think particularly Sunday night," he said.
"You don't really get the chance to recover after the 39 degrees very well so it does make it very stressful on the body.
"When you combine that sort of extreme heat with unusually high levels of moisture in the air it does make for very trying conditions, particularly for the very young and the very old."
Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner, Craig Lapsley, said people should keep an eye on the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, children and pets.
"It's going to be a hot day, a very hot night and hot again Monday, so it's the next 24 to 36 hours that people need to think through," he said.
"If you're home with your pets you're obviously able to look after them and one of the first things is about making sure they've got water and plenty of water's that in the shade."
Last week temperatures reached into the 40s in Melbourne, and caused debate about the Australian Open's heat policy.
But conditions are not expected to be as oppressive for tonight's men's final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic thanks to a cooler evening.
With the long weekend bringing an end to summer holidays for many people, the state's beaches have been a popular destination.
But Mr Lapsley said 24 people were rescued by lifesavers on Friday and 35 on Saturday, and urged people to swim between the flags.
A group of eight people had to be pulled from the water after getting into trouble about one kilometre from the flags at Fairhaven, near Airey's Inlet.
There have been 18 reported drowning deaths in Victoria this summer, the highest number since detailed records began in 2000.
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