Bushfire wreaks havoc in Australia since late July

Australia is observing the worst wildlife fire in decades which has devastated a large area of the country since the fire season started late July. 19 people have lost their lives nationwide whereas, alone in the state of New South Wales more than 900 houses have been destroyed.

wildlife-fire australia new-south-wales

The wildlife fire inflamed due to the persistent heat and drought, certain climatic changes are also taken into consideration in making the situation go bad to worst.

Almost every province of Australia is surviving through the problem but the New South Wales has been hit hardest. The fire blazed have gone out of the bushland, wooded
areas and the Blue Mountains. Some of the largest cities of the nation- Melbourne and Syndey has also got affected damaging the homes in outer suburbs, a thick puff of smoke
have blanketed urban areas causing air quality to reach a  hazardous level. Sydney's air quality has been affected the most.

The fire ranges in the area from small blaze to colossal inferno that occupies entire hectares of land. Some of the blazes have stopped and are contained in the matter but the
larger ones are still burning from months.

Each year there is fire season during the Australian Summer, with hot, dry weather making easy for the blazes to start and spread rapidly. Natural causes are mainly blamed for
the start of a fire. Dry Lightning was responsible for the start of a number of fires in Victoia's East Gippsland region in late December, which travelled more than 20 kilometres in just
five hours, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.

Australia has experienced this type of fire after the 2009 Black Saturday fires which killed 173 people in Victoria, making it the deadliest bushfire disaster ever on a record. Fire
season is always dangerous but this year the situation is worse with severe conditions. 

The country is experiencing one of its deadliest droughts in decades- as the last spring was the driest said Bureau of Meteorology. Meanwhile, a heatwave in December broke the
record for highest average temperature nationwide up to 40 degree Celsius at some places.

Strong winds have made the fire to spread more quickly, climate conditions have worsened the scope and impact of natural disasters like fires and floods, weather conditions are
growing more extreme, and for years, the fires have been starting earlier and spreading with immense intensity.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has been sent letters by several high-ranking emergency service officials warning of the impact of the climate crisis in Australia in 2019. PM has
emphasized a commitment to reduce carbon emissions and said he would stick to sensible policies, though, no single policy can be noticed yet.

Entire towns have been engulfed in flames, and residents across several states have lost their homes. The massive damage occurred in New South Wales, the country's most
populated state, where nearly 1,300 homes have been destroyed and over 440 damaged. In total, more than 5.9 million hectares of land have burned across six states of the
country.

There has also been extensive damage to wildlife and the environment. Almost a third of koalas in New South Wales may have been killed in the fires, and a third of their habitat
has been destroyed, said Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

State and federal authorities have been working to combat the fire crisis for months. The state of Queensland also briefly declared a state of emergency in November. There are
2,000 firefighters working on the ground in New South Wales alone, and more support is on the way -- the US, Canada, and New Zealand have sent additional firefighters to
help.

The federal government has also sent in military assistance like army personnel, air force aircraft, and navy cruisers for firefighting, search and rescue, and clean-up efforts.
Morrison said his administration was allocating at least 23 million Australian dollars in disaster recovery payments to affected families and businesses, and up to 6,000
Australian dollars each for volunteer firefighters called out to fight fires for more than 10 days. 

Unfortunately, Australia is only just entering its summer season. Normally, temperatures peak in January and February, meaning the country could be months away from finding
relief.
The fires are unlikely to end entirely since they are an annually occurring event -- and may even get worse in recent years are a guide.

Also Read: Russia gets fake snow as New Year gift to fight warmest winter


Trending