TORONTO -- Canadian firefighters have travelled to Australia to help with efforts to contain blazing bushfires in New South Wales.

Scorching temperatures and the hottest day on record in Australia are exacerbating the fire risk in already scorched regions along the country’s east coast.

In Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, residents recently choked by smoke due to bushfires raging across New South Wales are now sweltering in a heatwave.

Kim Connors, from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre in Winnipeg, told CTV News that 21 Canadian firefighters have been there since early December.

“They’re there for 38 days and then we are sending 31 more tomorrow night,” he said.

The Canadian wildfire experts who made the trip have roles in planning, logistics and operations. They will stay in Australia into the new year.

“Canadians came in fresh and uplifted the spirits and energy levels in the fire control centres they are working in now,” said Morgan Kehr, the Canadian deployment liason officer.

Australia recorded its hottest day on record on Dec. 18, with an average temperature across the country of 40.9 degrees Celsius.

“We see huge areas of the country not only going above 40 C, but also widespread areas above 45 degrees,” said Dean Narramore from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The country’s record high temperature will likely be broken later this month as the Australian summer heats up even further.

The extreme heat is compounding drought conditions as more than 100 fires blaze in New South Wales, where a state of emergency has been declared.

Half of the fires are not contained and officials are warning the situation will likely worsen.

Australia’s previous top temperature record, set in 2013, was a sweltering 40.3 C.