The mercury climbed to 36.6 degrees at 2pm in Albury, with wind gusts recorded at 78kmh a little over an hour later.

While residents sought solace in fans and air-conditioning, the region’s farmers were banned from harvesting their crops because of the fire danger.

The eight-hour ban applied to farmers in the Albury, Greater Hume, Corowa and Berrigan local government areas.

Albury’s Rural Fire Servic team manager George Alexander said it was the first time in about five years that harvesting was restricted on the Border.

The concern was for strong winds igniting a blaze from farm machinery.

Mr Alexander was not expecting another ban to be implemented in the near future.

“Hopefully rain on the weekend will ease things a bit,” he said.

The heatwave has seen a spike in energy consumption as residents turn to air-conditioners and fans for relief.

Country Energy southern region general manager David Nardi said Albury’s power usage was up 20  per cent compared to this time last year.

“We expect those demands on the network in two to three weeks time when we’re in the middle of summer,” he said.

While the network is designed to cope with the increased demand, Mr Nardi urged residents to be aware of how much power their cooling may be chewing through.

“The general message to customers is to be conscious of electricity use and the impact it will have on their energy bill,” he said.

Air-conditioning retailers have been run off their feet, with Scott Tennant of North East Heating and Airconditioning saying the phones haven’t stopped ringing since the day before the Melbourne Cup.

“There is always the last-minute rush for air-conditioning, especially before Christmas,” he said.

“They’re having all the family come over and want everyone to be comfortable at Christmas time.”

The weekend is expected to bring some relief for Albury-Wodonga with a top of 28 forecast today and 26 tomorrow.