The devastating wildfires in Australia, burning since September, have intensified over this past week. In total so far, 24 people have been killed, including volunteer firefighters. More than 6.3 million hectares of area have burned. As of Monday, 130 were still burning. With soaring temperatures, winds and the start of the hottest part of summer, is the worst yet to come?
This is an incredible amount of area that has been destroyed by these wildfires and there is still more yet to come as many are starting or currently out of control. To put this into some sort of perspective - the recent Amazon fires in 2019 destroyed over 900,000 hectares. I fear that much more devastation is yet to come in Australia.
Even more devastating news has been the estimated loss of wildlife. Professor Chris Dickman, Chair of the Australian Marsupial and Monotreme Specialist Group for the Species Survival Commission of the IUCN, has estimated that over 480 million animals have been affected by the wildfires in New South Wales alone.
"The true loss of animal life is likely to be much higher than 480 million. Many of the affected animals are likely to have been killed directly by the fires, with others succumbing later due to the depletion of food and shelter resources and predation from introduced feral cats and red foxes " Chris Dickman reports.
What is Being Done?
With a state of emergency being called by New South Wales and Queensland, and Victoria calling a state of disaster, additional government resources and calls to military and aid from the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand are assisting tremendously. Over 2,000 firefighters alone are on the ground in New South Wales battling the blazes and additional resources and personnel are being sent. In addition, the Australian Prime Minister has allocated a $2 Billion recovery fund to help recover the affected communities. He has also announced a $4,200 pay will be sent to each volunteer firefighter who has fought for more than 10 days along with compensation pay and extra leave to them as well.
Additionally, you can assist those affected by the Australian wildfires. See the bottom of the post for links.
How Did These Fires Start?
While many are blaming Global Warming and others blaming intentional starts, its evident that there are a mix of factors. A very dry and hot summer is definitely the key factor along with the fact that many parts of Australia have been in drought for a few years. Also, this summer, Australia has been strongly affected by a phenomenon called a positive Indian Ocean Dipole which is the warming of sea surface waters in the west and cooler surface waters in the east. This causes far less rain systems for much of Australia and far warmer temps. But, yes, there are also contributing factors of deliberate bush fire setting and from arson from those that want to see the world burn.
However, historical data shows that Australia has been slowly heating up over the past 50 years (as with much of the world), evident of Global Warming, and Australia has been a main global contributor of greenhouse gasses. So, it is evident that the change in climate due to the warming of the planet is yet another contributing factor.
Exacerbation
Extreme heat, high winds and extreme drought, is accelerating the blazes and making their containment very difficult. Much of the concentration of efforts tend to focus on stopping the spread of the fires rather than putting out the fires themselves. However, many don't realize that large wildfires/bushfires such as these actually cause their own weather. This weather system that is created cause its own accelerated winds, rain and lightning. The rain it produces is of minimal aid and unfortunately causes self producing lightning which in turn, causes further start to fires. This is commonly why much of the effort is focused on containment rather than endlessly trying to extinguish fires. If they can contain the spread, they will burn out.
In addition, winds are causing terrible smoke to flow through populated areas causing many health concerns in the surrounding areas. Back in the early part of December and for much of the month, air quality index's were reporting over 11 times the dangerous levels. Many parts of the city were being shut down and caused massive health concerns for children and the elderly as smoke could not be kept out of homes and schools. Many areas had to be evacuated.
How Can I Help?
Australia is really in a time of great need and it is predicted that this devastation will not end any time this month or possibly two. Worsening weather with high winds and soaring temperatures are going to take a further toll. If you are looking on ways you can send aid to families, firefighters, wildlife rescue and treatment centers, please visit the links below. These are verified safe. Let's all do our part and stop this devastation of life.
WILDLIFE AID
WIRES Wildlife Rescue
World Wildlife Fund
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
EVACUEE AID
Australian Red Cross
Victorian Bushfire Appeal
Salvation Army Australia
Salvation Army Canada
Foodbank
FIREFIGHTER AID
New South Wales Rural Fire Service
Victoria County Fire Authority
Queensland’s Rural Fire Brigades Association
Families of Killed Volunteer Firefighters
South Australia County Fire Service
(Fact Sources: University of Sydney, CNN, BBC)
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