<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Dozens of bushfires burning across Australia's east coast could get worse as a severe heatwave continues, fire services have warned.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>After two years of rains and floods, a return to warmer conditions has sparked New South Wales state's worst fires since the 2019/2020 "Black Summer".</div><div><br></div><div>A blaze 250km (155 miles) north-west of Sydney triggered the region's first emergency fire warning in two years.</div><div><br></div><div>Firefighters reported battling 10-15m (49ft) high flames.</div><div><br></div><div>Residents in affected areas across New South Wales - Australia's most populous state - have been urged to evacuate, and there are reports of damage to some properties.</div><div><br></div><div>Temperatures in some parts of the state also hit 40C (104F) on Monday, for the first time since January 2021.</div><div><br></div><div>On Tuesday, 33 fires were still burning across the state, 10 of which were not under control, fire authorities said.</div><div><br></div><div>The NSW Rural Fire Service said strong winds had driven the fires' rapid spread.</div><div><br></div><div>"It's going to be another tough day for firefighters and potentially even into tomorrow before we get some reprieve," RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.</div><div><br></div><div>Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) also warned that dry thunderstorms were possible across eastern NSW, which could spark new fires.</div><div><br></div><div>RFS Inspector Ben Shepherd told the BBC a number of other fires in western NSW were "likely to be problematic".</div><div><br></div><div>The hot and dry conditions are expected to last until Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>Eastern Australia has experienced three consecutive summers of La Niña conditions, with above-average rainfall causing widespread flooding.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2022, Sydney recorded its wettest year since records began.</div><div><br></div><div>But last week, the Bom said its models suggested La Niña was "likely near its end", with a return to neutral conditions or even the hot and dry El Niño phenomenon, likely in the southern hemisphere's autumn.</div><div><br></div><div>At least 33 people and an estimated 3 billion animals and birds died in 2019-20 Black Summer fires, one of Australia's worst-ever natural disasters. Source: BBC&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>