Hot Melbourne night kicks off summer - The Age

Photo: Graphic: Jamie Brown

Melburnians have sweltered through a hot start to summer.

After reaching a top of 34.1 on Sunday, the temperature was still around 28 degrees as the calendar officially ticked over to December at midnight.

And it didn't drop much below that.

The city recorded its overnight low of 24.6 degrees at 6.32am.

Conditions throughout the night were uncomfortable, but still short of the record for the hottest December night, which stands at 27.4 degrees on December 24 in 2012.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said cloud cover trapped the heat and prevented the temperature from falling overnight.

But don't expect the heat to continue.

Forecasters are expecting mild conditions for the rest of the week, with Monday's predicted 24.9 degrees heralding a week in the mid 20s.

Melburnians can expect to see more fluctuating conditions until the heat really sets in next year.

"We'll still see swings over the next few weeks. It's really in January when we see strings of hot weather," Mr Carlyon said.