Fires in Australia were a major global issue in the first weeks of 2020. Since the beginning of the fire, 28 people have died, thousands of houses have been destroyed, and environmentalists from the University of Sydney have estimated that the lives of more than a billion birds, reptiles and mammals were taken by the fire that has been ravaging New South Wales since September last year. Although it is known that Australia has a so-called fire season and that their occurrence is not uncommon, this season brings completely new challenges and consequences for the population of this continent. The biggest fires spread along the southern and eastern coast, which is the most densely populated, and includes the surroundings of Sydney and Adelaide.

Over 100 thousand square kilometers of land were burned, which is more than the area of ​​the whole of Serbia!

When asked why this season is so dramatic and why firefighters and volunteers have not been able to contain the fires for months, various answers can be heard, from that climate change acts like adding fuel to the fire, to claims that fires are intentionally started by people, to the complete negation of climate skeptics that climate change plays any role.

Impact of climate change on fires

Scientists have been pointing out for years that warmer and drier weather conditions brought about by climate change could lead to more frequent fires of greater intensity, and recently this warning was repeated in a special report on climate change and land of the International Climate Change Panel (IPCC) in August last year.

The title of the warmest year in Australia, since the measurements were made, went to 2019, namely, the data of the Australian Meteorological Bureau show that the average annual temperature was higher by 1.52 ° C, compared to the period between 1961 and 1990, which brought it down previous record from 2013, when the mean temperature was 1.33 ° C higher.

Last year, the record of the average daily maximum temperature was broken, and December 2019 was the warmest month ever in Australia.

In addition to being the warmest, last year was also the driest. the average annual rainfall was significantly below normal and was 277mm, surpassing the previous lowest recorded value of 314mm from 1902. Extremely arid conditions in Australia have prevailed since the end of 2017 and that is why some areas were burning in these fires. who are not otherwise so endangered by this calamity.

We are witnessing what science has been drawing attention to for a long time, climate change is causing more frequent and extreme high temperatures, which worsens the conditions and makes the vegetation drier and more susceptible to burning. The Australian Fire Department estimates the risk of fire and the risk of fire based on the measured temperature, humidity, wind speed and availability of dry fuel. Based on these calculations, it was concluded that in 2019, this risk was the highest since the calculations were performed, ie. since 1950

Climate scientists from various world universities, institutes and research centers are saying the same thing, global warming caused by anthropogenic activity is leading to more extreme and dangerous fires.

The drier the vegetation, the easier the fires are, the longer they are maintained and the easier they spread, and what is particularly worrying is the possibility that the fires that are currently ravaging everything in front of them will become a "normal" phenomenon in the coming years in Australia. the mean global temperature rises by 2.5 to 3 ° C, compared to the pre-industrial period.

How do fires affect climate change?

It is estimated that about 350 million tons of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere during the incessant fires, which is about two thirds of the total amount that Australia emits during the year. Until now, it was thought that forests reabsorbed all the carbon dioxide released in this way, however, since climate change leads to more frequent and intense fires, but also droughts, a slower rate of vegetation regrowth is expected between seasons and could pass. and a whole century before all the carbon dioxide released this season is reabsorbed.

What other factors affect fires?

Although the impact of climate change on the dramatic season of Australian fires is scientifically indisputable, other factors also play a role. The very occurrence of forest fires requires the presence of dry, solid fuel, a heat source that will lead to the ignition of the fire and suitable weather conditions for its spread.

The most dangerous conditions for the spread of fire occur when dry and warm air, which travels from the desert central part of the continent to the coastal populated regions, meets an air mass of different density, forming an atmospheric front. This phenomenon can lead to a sudden change in pressure, temperature and wind speed, which in turn leads to the spread of fire in several different directions.

In New South Wales and Queensland, legal proceedings have been instituted against citizens who intentionally lit fires during the fire season, including those who threw unextinguished cigarette butts and matches on the ground, which some climate skeptics used to launch a campaign that exaggerates this impact on fires. However, the main causes of fires are lightning strikes, and most of them, which were started by people, are accidental.

Additionally, since these fires are so large and release a huge amount of heat, they create their own unpredictable and dangerous weather systems, which leads to storms, strong winds, and even fiery tornadoes. One such tornado killed a volunteer after he lifted a fire truck off the ground.

Australia as the embodiment of the climate crisis

Terrifying images of the state of emergency in Australia have traveled the world, people and animals have been left homeless, and those less fortunate and lifeless, firefighters have suffered burns and collapsed from exhaustion, rebellion and anger of residents towards national and local leadership has grown.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has been the target of public condemnation for some time, since he went on a family vacation to Hawaii during the fire season, but also rejected recommendations to reduce the Australian coal industry, of which Australia is the world's largest exporter.

The Australian government continues to insist that there is no direct link between this season's fires and climate change, despite public outrage, the number of victims and scientific warnings. The Prime Minister also claims that Australia does not have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions more aggressively in order to stop global warming.

After such a scenario in Australia, it has become, unfortunately, obvious to laymen that the long-standing warnings of the scientific public about the consequences of global warming are no conspiracy, and that the loudest so-called climate skeptics have a slightly different motivation than preserving the human environment. fuel.

If we do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions and then eliminate them completely by 2050, not only will this situation recur more frequently in Australia, but we will also see increasingly extreme weather and disaster conditions in other parts of the world, which will affect everyone us.

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