Parts of Australia were gripped by record temperatures of close to 122 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday as the country sweated through a prolonged heat wave a bitter cold blanketed most of the US

The rural towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup in Victoria state recorded preliminary high temperatures of 120 degrees which, if confirmed overnight, would surpass records set on a day in 2009 when 173 people died in the state’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires.

There were no reports of casualties from Tuesday’s heatwave, but Victorian authorities urged vigilance as three bushfires raged out of control.

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

Inside, organizers enacted protocols for extreme heat, forcing the closure of the retractable roofs over the main arenas and the postponement of matches on open outdoor courts. During the quarter-final match between Arya Sabalenka and Iva Jovic on Tuesday – the last match played under the scorching sun – the players held ice packs to their heads and portable fans to their faces during breaks in play.

The organizers provided the photographers filming the match with pillows to avoid heat-related injuries when they sit down and covered their cameras with towels to prevent the equipment from malfunctioning in the heat or burning their hands. Fans lined up in front of the huge exhaust fans or sought shelter in the air-conditioned parts of the hall.

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

Temperatures are expected to drop on Wednesday, although the heatwave was expected to last until the weekend. The heat wave came earlier this month amid one of Australia’s hottest summers.

On Monday, parts of the states of New South Wales and South Australia reached record temperatures, with some exceeding records set during the devastating summer of forest fires 2019. Then, as now, temperatures approached 122 degrees in some places.