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Melbourne weather: City set to serve up a scorcher for Day Two of the tennis

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Melbourne weather: get set to sizzle

It's set to be a couple of hot and sweaty days, with a top of 31 degrees Celsius today and 38 degrees tomorrow.

Tennis fans and players are set to sizzle on Tuesday, with the the mercury forecast to pass 38 degrees, making it one of the hottest days of the summer.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Stewart said heat building up inland in the northern parts of the country would be pushed into the state on Tuesday.

Melbourne's hottest day of the summer so far was just after Christmas, on December 28, when the temperature it hit 38.2 degrees. 

"It looks like it's going to be equal [that] on Tuesday and be one of the hottest days of the summer so far," Mr Stewart said.

At the Open, play is only called off once the "wet bulb globe" temperature – based on the advice of the weather bureau, a meteorologist and the tournament doctor – reaches a level of both heat and humidity that organisers believe is too much.

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There is no set number, but depending on humidity, Tuesday's top of 38 degrees could send the event's heat policy into effect. The three major courts at Melbourne Park – Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court and Hisense Arena – can be covered, so play will not be extremely disrupted.

In 2014 and 2009, Australian Open organisers used the extreme heat policy.

Tennis Australia's director of events Tom Larner​ said there would be more shade this year than in previous years, particularly at Margaret Court and some outdoor courts. He added that ground pass tennis fans also had access to Hisense Arena, which offers shade.

Mr Stewart said Tuesday's intense heat would be short-lived.

Melburnians need not fret about a sleepless, sticky Tuesday night with cold winds expected to pass through by Tuesday evening.

"By Tuesday afternoon a cool southerly change will start to come through bringing temperatures to [a maximum of] just 22 degrees on Wednesday with even a chance of patchy rain in the morning."

Maximum temperatures forecast until Sunday will hover around the mid-20s, according the the bureau.