(Bloomberg) -- The devastating wildfires that have burnt out around 2.5 million acres of farmland and bush in Australia’s east have claimed another life.

A man’s body was discovered in bushland beside a road near the town of Kempsey, about 280 miles northeast of Sydney in regional New South Wales, authorities said. The state has borne the brunt of the fires, with three other fatalities in the past week. Emergency services are warning neighboring Queensland state will see worsening fire conditions this weekend.

Hundreds of fires have raged in Australia this week, sparking debate on whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison is doing enough to curb emissions and whether climate change is worsening the fire season in what is already the world’s driest inhabited continent. His conservative government has snubbed calls to discuss the impact of climate change in drought-affected rural areas, saying its full focus should be on extinguishing the blazes and helping victims.

Temperatures in the Queensland capital of Brisbane are expected to reach 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by Saturday. A Bureau of Meteorology forecaster said the heat, combined with dry air, would result in elevated fire dangers this weekend, according to an AAP report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Scott in Canberra at jscott14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

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