Australian Bushfires

Australia is going through one of its worst droughts in history due to climate change. In comparison to recent years, these wildfires have started early and spread around a wider area. The wildfires have taken many lives, destroyed homes, and led some species of animals to extinction. Authorities are doing everything they can do to help, and many people have been donating money for all the damages that have been incurred. The Air Quality in Sydney was 11 times the hazardous level which caused a risk to people’s health. The city of Sydney was blanketed with a layer of smoke which made driving very difficult on top of other activities. Many schools were closed because they were having a tough time removing the smoke from the buildings and they did not want to risk the health of their students. New South Wales and Victoria were the most affected by this season of wild bushfires. Many people in these areas lost their homes and land. The fires covered almost ten million hectares which is about the size of England. The bushfires are a major environmental catastrophe because they are causing hazardous smoke pollution and spreading black carbon thousands of miles outside Australia. The black carbon can contribute to health issues and cause climate change. The bushfires can create their own weather due to clouds forming from the plumes. This can lead to bad weather such as storms with lightning which would cause more wildfires. Climate change can explain some of the causes of the wildfires such as the Indian Ocean Dipole. The Indian Ocean Dipole is a phenomenon which says that the ocean temperatures are warmer on the western side of the ocean and cooler on the eastern side. This is causing droughts in Australia and heavy rainfall in Africa. The wildlife in Australia have been directly affected by the wildfires. Many species of koalas and kangaroos have lost their homes to the fires and many have died. Almost a billion animals have died due to the fires. This can lead to many species native to Australia being pushed to the brink of extinction. The wildfire season is only half over and we can only hope that the season does not take an even higher toll on Australia. After the season is over, Australia will need to think of ways to battle this ongoing catastrophe in the future.

-Gurpreet Multani, GSP Blog Team Contributor