Australia experienced the worst fire seasons in 2019 and 2020 as bushfires exhumed many acres of land, leaving both people and animals displaced and devastated. According to a report by New York Times, millions of acres were destroyed, hundreds of homes destroyed, and at least 15 people killed (Parsons and Goldman). The wild effects of increased fire episodes have affected all living species, whereas as people run for their lives, many trees and animals are facing extinction. The fires that burnt across the country affected at least six states, with the coastal region hit the hardest. The country’s firefighters, alongside volunteers, worked for at least 12 hours to curb the spread of the fire. The United States and Canadian governments provided the country with water tanker aircraft to support the firefighting operations.
Climate change is the major cause of the increased fire seasons in the nation. The country experienced increased temperatures of up to 41.9oC during the fire eruptions (Parsons and Goldman). These highest temperatures on record were followed by the direst spring ever and longer summer. The high temperatures made it easy for wildfire to spread throughout different areas (Parsons and Goldman). Australia is known to be dry and hot, but following global climate change, the country’s weather gets worse. To account for the worsening of fires, the hot and dry air is drawn from the desert to the coastal regions, causing the wind’s changed direction. The consequent firestorms produce tornadoes, strong winds, and even lightning.
Climate change in Australia has caused reduced rainfall, thus affecting the agricultural market. Reduced rainfall means longer droughts and dried plants, which makes it easy for the fire to spread through the wild. According to Flanagan, the carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels in the country trap heat when released into the air. The catastrophic fire episodes have put intense pressure on the current government for failure to handle climate change. The Australian government has contributed to the ongoing climate change in the country (Martin and Chakrabarti). The political system, despite making climate change their primary score in campaigns, has done nothing to reduce carbon emissions.
The Australian government was put on the spot when the citizens could no longer take the harsh effects of fire. Speaking on On Spot radio, several Australians showed their future concern for the nation’s climate following the worsening temperatures (Martin and Chakrabarti). The citizens, while blaming the government’s failure to put measures to curb carbon emissions, stated that worse effects of climate change should be expected in the future. The Australian pride, rain forests, and Great Barrier Reef were dying alongside the savage fires (Martin and Chakrabarti).
The starvation events experienced in Australia affected both humans and animals. Animals were leaving their young ones to look for safer areas, leading them to extinction. While showing concern for the unique species of animals in the nation, Peter Kanowski mentioned that certain species were likely to experience extinction (Martin and Chakrabarti). The end of rare species in the country would mean reduced tourism revenues as tourists come to the country to see the rare animals (Flanagan). The common opinion is that the country’s leaders need to establish ways to reduce carbon emissions in an effort to avert climate change. Unless such measures are taken, Australian wildfires are likely to worsen in the future.
Works Cited
Flanagan, Richardson. “Australia is Committing Climate Suicide.” The New York Times, 2020, Web.
Martin, Wes and Meghna Chakrabarti. “Amid Catastrophic Destruction, Lessons from the Wildfires in Australia.” On Point, 2020. Web.
Parsons, Andy, and Russell Goldman. “Why the Fires in Australia Are So Bad.” The New York Times, 2020, Web.