Melbourne city has suffered its hottest night since 1902 as a heat wave gripped southern Australia. While much of the northern hemisphere is suffering from unusually cold conditions, night-time temperatures in Melbourne have reached 34 degree celsius. The situation was made worse as air conditioning shut down when power cuts hit homes. The city was also hit by more than 100 train cancellations as air conditioning failed on trains and the heat caused rails to buckle. Electricity companies said transformers had failed in the heat. Many residents chose to spend the night on the beach. Temperatures were expected to rise to 40 degree celsius today before becoming cooler.