Australian Bushfire


Forest and bushfires have been a common phenomenon in Australia in summers. The dry weather and the hot temperature make it easy for a fire to start in the forests. The rising temperature has had a major role in the severe bushfire that took place recently.

The recent bushfire has turned out to be the worst bushfires Australia has faced. The data says that nearly 25 people have lost lives and more than 2000 homes have been destroyed in the long marathon of bushfire. In six states in Australia, nearly 7.3 million hectares have been burnt. NSW is the worst affected state with approximately 4.9 million hectares of land being burnt. The deadly fire has had an effect on over half a billion animals. Data and pictures found on the internet suggest that thousands of animals have lost their life. Ecologists say that koalas have been endangered with so many losing their lives in the bushfire. The air quality of the areas affected with fire and the nearby areas are 7 times dangerous than the worst air quality measured to date.

What can be done now?

Australia is easily exposed to forest and bushfires, and homes situated close to forests in different states of Australia are at great risk. It is very difficult to fight fires of this magnitude, but damage can be reduced by creating barriers between forests and places of habitation. Nearly 2000 firefighters have been deployed on the ground to save people and animals from the states affected by the fire. Countries like the United States, Canada, and New Zealand are sending more people to help carry out the rescue mission. Firefighters have been risking their lives, entering severely affected areas, that still have the fires burning areas. In such cases, the firefighters, and their fire vehicles should be properly equipped with all important tools such as Fire Beaters, Fireman axe, and systems for generating and projecting Class A foam, etc.

The recent bushfire has had a huge impact on the country. With summer arriving and the increasing temperature has been making everyone rethink about the increasing effects of global warming and climate change.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51015536
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51003504
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/01/australia/australia-fires-explainer-intl-hnk-scli/index.html