Outback Queensland is sweltering with temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above the October average, and the heat is expected to build over the coming days.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe heatwave warning for the next three days, concentrated in the west and north-west.

Senior forecaster Baden Gilbert said maximum temperatures were creeping toward the mid-40s in the southern interior and south-west.

"It's pretty exceptional for this time of year,"

he said.

"In terms of our heatwave warning, they're currently focused on the north-west and the west where that pulse of heat is currently sitting."

The record for the hottest October day in Queensland is 45.1C.

The tiny dust bowl town of Birdsville is forecast to hit 46C today, after the mercury reached 44.9C on Monda

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