As most people know, Australia is on fire; however, the reasoning behind the vigorous fires remains an ongoing debate. Unfortunately, this is no the first mass forest fire that Australia has endured. There have been four major bushfires throughout the 1900’s, but the deadliest of these bushfires happened to be in 2009. Also known as “Black Saturday” these bushfires in Victoria, Australia killed a record of 173 people. Today, the bushfires have killed twenty-seven people as of January 10th and has spread over 15.6 million acres.
So the question still remains if these fires are a result of climate change. Australia has in fact warmed approximately one degree on average since 1910. Also, 2019 happens to be the year where Australia recorded its hottest average of about 41.9 degrees Celcius (approximately 107.42 degrees Fahrenheit). The increase in temperature plus years of drought caused the environment to become extremely dry. Because of these conditions, a simple lightning strike could cause mass destruction as a result of easy fire spread.
Meteorologists have also found the reasoning behind the drastic temperature and drought conditions. They concluded that there is a positive “Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) – an event where sea surface temperatures are warmer in the western half of the ocean, cooler in the east” (Australia). This dipole demonstrates that the warmer western side of the Indian Ocean produces an abundance of rain for Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. In contrast, the eastern side of the ocean remains cooler which prevents rain in Indonesia and Australia.
These fires threaten not only the people and animals in Australia, but the smoke seems to be traveling towards South America and New Zealand. The Black Carbon which resides in the smoke is harmful to all living things. Along with the harmful effects, this carbon can also increase climate change as well. With the drastic air pollution and poor air quality, citizens in Southern Australia must wear face masks. According to the Air Quality Index, most of South Australia have hazardous or very unhealthy air quality.
As a result of these ongoing fires, it has been estimated that a billion animals, including insects, have perished. Austalia alone is the home to about 500,000 different species which only reside within the country. These fires threaten the prosperous number of species and further endanger already threatened animals. It has been shared that about 25,000 koalas have perished on Kangaroo Island. This cuts the koala population in half which alludes to possible extinction if the bushfires continue rapidly.
Overall, the bushfires in Australia have created grief and worry for everyone around the world. Witnessing the devastation of an entire country is heartbreaking for both the people and animals of Australia. Although there has been some rain in parts of Australia, these fires show no signs of ending anytime soon. We must hope that these fires die off on their own and with the help of firefighters.
“Air Pollution in Australia: Real-Time Air Quality Index Visual Map.” Aqicn.org, The World Air Quality Project, aqicn.org/map/australia/.
“Australia Fires: A Visual Guide to the Bushfire Crisis.” BBC News, BBC, 13 Jan. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043.
Zaveri, Mihir, and Emily S. Rueb. “How Many Animals Have Died in Australia’s Wildfires?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/world/australia/fires-animals.html.