As summer approaches, Australia is facing an increased risk of bushfires, warned authorities on Thursday. The El Nino weather pattern is expected to bring hotter and drier conditions, increasing the likelihood of bushfires across the country.
Incessant rain over the past three years has led to increased vegetation, but the intense heatwaves typical of Australia’s summer can quickly turn this vegetation into tinder-dry bushland, fueling fires. Climate change has exacerbated the country’s weather extremes in recent years, according to experts.
“Compared with the spring outlook, more capital cities are now facing increased risk,” said Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt, urging residents to update their bushfire plans and pack emergency and evacuation kits.
In September, an intense spring heat wave sparked dozens of bushfires, prompting authorities to issue fire bans for Sydney. Although recent rain across the east has doused many fires, the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services warned that record dry conditions and above-average temperatures are expected to persist well into 2024.
Some areas previously affected by the 2019-20 “Black Summer” fires could be under threat again this summer, according to the report. Australia declared an El Nino weather pattern – characterized by below-average rain and above-average daytime temperatures – in September.
“We are now looking at a potentially very challenging summer ourselves. Everything we see now is happening in the context of climate change on a planet that is now hotter and more volatile,” said Simon Bradshaw, research director at the independent nonprofit Climate Council.
Despite record-breaking rain in November for some areas in Australia’s east, climate experts anticipate the upcoming bushfire season to be the worst in about four years. The Bureau of Meteorology noted that it is not unusual to have wet weather during El Nino, which increases but does not guarantee drier conditions.
(Reporting by Renju Jose and Cordelia Hsu in Sydney; Editing by William Mallard)
