Canberrans sweltering through Friday and Saturday's heatwave will be granted a relative reprieve on Sunday, as the hot weather begins to push out of the ACT.
The temperature hit 35.9 degrees at Canberra Airport by noon on Saturday and was expected to climb further into the afternoon.
As of late Saturday morning, parts of Gungahlin remained left without electricity after an unplanned power outage hit the suburb at around 10:20am.
ActewAGL confirmed response crews were ready to go around the territory should another unplanned outage occur.
Sunday was expected to deliver a high of 31 degrees following Saturday's forecast 41 degrees.
The forecast temperature drop will come as a relief to the city's human and animal inhabitants alike.
National Zoo and Aquarium operations manager Renee Osterloh said the animals' handlers provided them with a range of icy treats in the hot weather.
She said most of the animals slowed down and sought cool places to conserve energy and rest during hot summer days.
"We've got bloodsicles, fishicles and fruitsicles," she said.
The territory's firefighters had a quiet Friday night and Saturday morning, with only small, easily-contained fires to attend to across the city.
A total fire ban is in place until 11.59pm on Sunday while a planned power outage has been taking place in the Canberra Centre since 5:30am, scheduled to finish at approximately 2:00pm this afternoon.