There were the Californian forest fires, the Iberian peninsular forest fires, then the Amazon and Indonesian fires, now it is Australia that are suffering the blazing conflagrations that have been made worse by climate change. The government's Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said that "the team can't comprehensively identify a day in our records where there hasn't been rain somewhere on continental Australia.
A hundred fires are burning across the two eastern states, Queensland and New South Wales. After three people were killed over the weekend, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a week-long state of emergency. The south-eastern Australian state of Victoria, which has sent hundreds of firefighters north to help with the ongoing blazes, hasn't yet endured deadly fires this year. However, it is currently bracing for a "very extreme" heatwave that has "the potential to kill hundreds of people, cripple public transport and the electricity supply, and strip $1 billion from the state's economy," The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
More than 575 schools will shut their doors on Tuesday, while aged care homes remain on high alert and have been put on notice that evacuations could be necessary.
In terms of efforts to curb planet-warming emissions and avert global climate catastrophe, Australia ranks as one of the worst among the world's 19 largest economies and the European Union, according to Climate Transparency.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters Saturday that he hadn't considered if the fires were tied to the climate crisis.
Carol Sparks, a mayor who lost her home in a fire near the New South Wales town of Glen Innes, told The Associated Press that "it's climate change, there's no doubt about it. The whole of the country is going to be affected. We need to take a serious look at our future."
A hundred fires are burning across the two eastern states, Queensland and New South Wales. After three people were killed over the weekend, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a week-long state of emergency. The south-eastern Australian state of Victoria, which has sent hundreds of firefighters north to help with the ongoing blazes, hasn't yet endured deadly fires this year. However, it is currently bracing for a "very extreme" heatwave that has "the potential to kill hundreds of people, cripple public transport and the electricity supply, and strip $1 billion from the state's economy," The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
More than 575 schools will shut their doors on Tuesday, while aged care homes remain on high alert and have been put on notice that evacuations could be necessary.
In terms of efforts to curb planet-warming emissions and avert global climate catastrophe, Australia ranks as one of the worst among the world's 19 largest economies and the European Union, according to Climate Transparency.
"Australia is behind on climate action in nearly every dimension. Australia's emissions are increasing and there's virtually no policy in place to reduce them," Bill Hare, the chief executive of Climate Analytics. Although Australia has "one of the best solar energy potential and wind potential in general of any of the G20 countries," Hare said the country "is not transforming its energy system and is focused on building coal and gas, and has not paid any attention to the need to transition to a zero-carbon economy." Hare specifically called out Australia's Liberal-National Coalition government, charging that "the country is led by politicians who in one way or another deny either the science or are de facto denying it, and actively and willfully opposing or obstructing climate policies."
Coalition leaders continue to dismiss the climate connection to the bushfires. National Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told ABC Radio National that "we've had fires in Australia since time began…They don't need the ravings of some pure, enlightened, and woke capital city greenies at this time…”
Newcastle City Councillor Carol Duncan told The New Daily, "I'm disturbed that our government has ignored—and continues to ignore—the repeated calls for genuine climate action from our community, and from the scientists who have warned us that climate change will make bushfires and other natural disasters happen more frequently and become more intense. We can't continue to pretend it's unrelated," added Duncan, whose father's home was destroyed by a fire a few weeks ago.
The link between rising greenhouse gas emissions and increased bushfire risk is complex but, according to major science agencies, clear. Climate change does not create bushfires but it can and does make them worse.
Catastrophic fire danger has been forecast for the greater Sydney, greater Hunter and Illawarra/Shoalhaven regions on Tuesday 12 November. This includes the central coast and the Blue Mountains. It’s the first time since the new fire ratings were introduced in 2009 that catastrophic conditions have been forecast for Sydney. Catastrophic is the highest fire danger rating. High temperatures, strong winds and low humidity are forecast, making conditions dangerous. If a fire starts during catastrophic conditions, lives and homes will be at risk.
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