Australia is still battling a rash of wildfires at the opening of 2020, as severe heat grips much of the country. Officials have enlisted military aid to tackle the scores of blazes, and some people have had to evacuate.
Are Australia’s wildfires getting worse?
The latest Australian wildfires are some of the worst the country has ever seen, with blazes in every state.
New South Wales has seen some of the worst activity, with more than 900 homes now destroyed by the oncoming flames.
Nationwide, a total of 17 people have died, and authorities are struggling to contain the flames even with foreign aid.
READ MORE: Australia bushfires: Raging infernos ravage homes as fires spread
Authorities have now rated the wildfires the worst on record, and they show no sign of abating.
Continuing hot, dry weather has spurred the flames through the Australian summer, which lasts until February this year.
More than 19,000 square miles of land has burned since before the season began last year.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said fires would likely persist until the country gets “decent rain”.
Flames are just part of the deadly risk the fires pose as they sweep Australia, as smoke has caused air quality to plummet to dangerous levels.
Bushfires on the south coast have poured smoke into Australia’s capital of Canberra, which recently recorded its worst-ever air quality.
Air Quality Index (AQI) readings in the city peaked at 3,463 on Wednesday, far exceeding the baseline “hazardous” rating of 200.
Officials advise those living under a hazardous warning to stay indoors and keep all windows closed.
Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Sophie Lewis, a Canberra-based University of New South Wales climate scientist, said the smoke makes everyone “panic".
She told the publication: “It’s permeating everything. It is the fine particulates that get through everything. This is the worst it has been.
“Last night it started to blow in and you do start to feel quite anxious and stressed.
“Smoke just makes us all panic.”
Animals are particularly suffering from the wildfires, as millions of Australia's native fauna have died as a result of the deadly blazes.
Ecologists from the University of Sydney estimate nearly half a billion (480 million) mammals, reptiles and birds have died since the fires began.
Koalas are among the worst-hit species, as the slow-moving creatures make their homes in eucalyptus trees, many of which are in the path of the vicious fires.
Reports have also surfaced of farmers returning to their land to find their livestock dead, and kangaroos have been spotted fleeing the flames.
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2020-01-03 09:03:00Z
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