Persistent heatwave ranks high in records

Australians feeling hot, hot, hot in the past week were sweltering through one of the country's most significant heatwaves.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says the weather of January 13 to 18 ranks up with the heatwaves of January-February 2009, January 1939 and January 1908 for southeast Australia.

While numerous records were broken, the recent weather was more notable for its persistent heat.

The peak temperatures generally weren't as high as those in 2009 but they lasted longer, particularly on the Victoria and South Australian coasts, a special climate statement issued on Monday says.

Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra set records for consecutive days of high temperatures.

The heatwave began with a dome of very hot air developing over Western Australia from January 8, which then moved into southeast Australia.