Wagga residents woke on Tuesday morning to the smell of smoke and a hazy atmosphere, which the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) warns could be around for the coming days.

"This smoke is being blown in from large fires in the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and South Coast areas," the NSW RFS Riverina Zone advised in a post on its Facebook page.

"This smoke may continue for several days.

"If you are easily affected by smoke, take precautions to protect your health.

"Please don't call Triple Zero just to report smoke. Save it for emergencies."

The NSW Government has declared Wagga's air quality to be 'poor' on Tuesday morning, following the arrival of bushfire smoke, with a the Air Quality Index (AQI) rating of 144.

By soon after 11.30am, the AQI had jumped to 216 - well into the hazardous level.

The smoky conditions meets extreme weather across much of the country this week, as heatwave conditions look to break records.

Wagga is predicted to endure three consecutive days of more than 40 degrees, all of which are expected to pass the existing December heat record of 42.3 degrees. That benchmark has stood since December 21, 1953, and the highest temperature on record for the city is 45.2 degrees, twice - in mid-January 2019, and 10 years ago in February.

Temperatures are expected to reach 36 degrees in Wagga on Tuesday and 39 on Wednesday before two days of 43. It will continue to climb on Saturday, with a 45-degree scorcher expected to start the last weekend before Christmas.

The forecast means the Christmas break has come a week early for Wagga cricketers with the hot weather forecast seeing Saturday's play abandoned.

Wagga Cricket made a call on Monday morning to abandon the planned round of Twenty 20 matches.

It's not only the forecast top of 45 which saw the early decision made, but the hot weather leading into it that raised concerns.

Cricket NSW area manager Luke Olsen, who is also a Wagga Cricket board member, believes with protracted heat forecast increasing the risk of heat stress and heat stroke they had little choice.

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Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Dr Blair Trewin said it could be possible that the record for Australia's warmest day could also be reset during the week.

"We saw significant heat build over Western Australia over the course of last week, and that heat is now pushing east over the continent, which is going to lead to several days of exceptional heat," Dr Trewin said.

"Australia's warmest day on record occurred in January 2013, when the average maximum temperature across the continent was 40.30 C.

"We're closely monitoring the development and progression of this heat but based on current forecasts we could see that record broken this week."

Meanwhile, the question of further water restrictions in Wagga has been raised by Riverina Water customers.

Permanent Riverina Water restrictions ban the use of fixed sprinklers between 10am and 5pm every day.

A report going to the board meeting this week says the expected summer conditions could trigger tighter restrictions if demand becomes high enough, but for now the council has answered "not yet" to changes.