Age: THE hottest year on record in Victoria ended with the hottest day for 2007 as temperatures in many parts of the state soared above 40. In Nhill in the Wimmera and Hopetoun in the Mallee, the mercury hit 43.7 degrees in mid-afternoon, a record for the year. In Melbourne, the temperature hit 41.1 just before 5pm, the city’s hottest day for more than a year. Electricity usage surged as the rising temperature forced householders to switch on the …