For the first time on record, Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra have all reached 40 degrees on the same day.

A hot air mass passing over southeastern Australia caused temperatures to reach the mid forties in some areas on Friday afternoon.

By 3pm, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart had all exceeded 40 degrees. This is a feat never before observed in official records, with continuous data for the three capital cities dating back to 1939.

As of 3pm, Melbourne was the hottest of the three cities, with a running maximum temperature of 42.6 degrees. At this time, Canberra had reached as high as 41.3 degrees and Hobart 40.4 degrees.