It’s the first time since overlapping records began that Australia experienced both its lowest rainfall and highest temperatures in the same year.
dan HIMBRECHTS/AAP
David Jones, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Karl Braganza, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Skie Tobin, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meterology says persistent drought and record temperatures were a major driver of Australia’s fire activity, and the context for 2019 lies in the past three years of drought.
It’s in our power to influence the climate by influencing the nations who help determine the climate.
Victorian government
Local, self organised, community groups can be supported to do strategic hazard reduction through a range of techniques – including targeted grazing, and prescribed or fuel reduction burning.
The consequences of underinsurance aren’t just personal. They potentially harm local communities permanently, as those unable to rebuild move away.
Dean Lewins/AAP
Here’s how Australians and their overseas family and friends can monitor the movement of fire fronts in real time.
At Echo Point lookout in Katoomba, NSW, people watch smoke from the Green Wattle Creek fire beyond The Three Sisters rock formation.
AAP/Steven Saphore
Cherine Fahd, University of Technology Sydney and Sara Oscar, University of Technology Sydney
Instagram bushfire images cut through our news fatigue. This developing brand of photojournalism brings authenticity and a different sense of proximity.
Suburban infrastructure growth has resulted in functional landscapes designed to serve the growing needs of urban peripheries.
Zhu Hongzhi/Unsplash
Living in a bushfire-prone area means every decision - from plants to parking spots to holidays - is shaped by fire risk. We live and die by the advice we are given, and the advice we ignore.
In an emergency, like a bushfire, making sure you have enough of your regular medication can mean the difference between life and death. But there are many ways to prepare.
from www.shutterstock.com
During bushfire season, managing medication as well as respiratory conditions should be part of any emergency plan.
‘You have to think that with people like these very experienced, respected voices that the government would have to take the [climate change] debate seriously’, says Michelle Grattan about the calls from ex-fire chiefs for the government to act on climate change.
DARREN PATEMAN/AAP
Emergency Leaders for Climate Action have a simple message: we’re in “a new age of unprecedented bushfire danger” due to climate change. But Morrison refuses to acknowledge it as a central issue.
In many countries including America, computer models are being used to predict how a fire will burn.
The convergence of technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence and virtual reality may offer hope for the way we manage future bushfire disasters.
As bushfires continue to burn across NSW and Queensland, the Prime Minister and Opposition leader have said policy arguments should be avoided until the immediate crisis has passed, but many disagree.
Dan Peled/AAP
Minister David Littleproud on bushfires, drought, and the Nationals
The Conversation, CC BY49.3 MB(download)
In this podcast, David Littleproud says "as elected officials, we've got a responsibility" to wait for the right time to talk about the link between climate change and the ongoing bushfires.
Many people in fire-prone areas may have weak phone signals - or none at all, if they’re located in a mobile black spot.
JOEL CARRETT/AAP
Service outages, network congestion and infrastructure at risk of being destroyed by fire are some of the issues worsening an already devastating situation.