<span style="color: #222222;">A heatwave has intensified bushfires ravaging parts of the Australia and blazes surrounding Sydney worsened under catastrophic conditions.<br />''<br />'' Australia's east coast has been hit by a record-breaking heatwave, which has moved in from the west of the country, exacerbating hundreds of fires in its path.<br />''</span><br />''Today, Sydney was shrouded in toxic smoke as blazes flared to its north, south and west, some just 130 kilometres from Australia's largest city.<br />''<br />''Australia endures bushfires every year but the early and intense start to this season, along with the record temperatures, has raised concerns about global warming.<br />''<br />''In the state of South Australia, which in the past few days has borne the brunt of the heatwave, more than 1,500 firefighters have been battling fires that ripped through more than 40,000 hectares.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Two people died in fires over the past two days, and dozens of firefighters have been treated for injuries and smoke inhalation. At least three million hectares of land have been torched across the country in recent months, with at least 10 people killed and more than 800 homes destroyed.</span><br />