The year 2019 was the driest and hottest for Australia. Spring has brought less rain than usual, and high temperatures have reached record highs after scorching heat waves. In September 2019, the first fires of one of the most aggressive fire seasons on this island continent were unleashed.
Climatic events are being aggravated as a consequence of the global increase in temperatures. In Australia, where 17% of the territory is forested, 10 million hectares were burned in the past year , half of them in recent months. The fires are getting longer and more intense. A scope that scientists attribute to climate change.
The consequences are being devastating, especially for flora and fauna. One billion animals would have been affected by the flames. Koalas, which are endemic to Australia, suffer a delicate situation. Some conservation organizations consider that the koala population has suffered a severe enough decline to consider that this mammal would have been “functionally extinct”. Although the official organisms believe that the situation of the koala is “vulnerable”, but that it is not in the process of disappearing. However, it is estimated that 30% of the koala population would have died as a result of the wildfires.
In terms of human losses, 26 people have died , and thousands have lost their homes. Firefighters, governments and NGOs work for weeks to extinguish the fires, and to help those affected, both humans and animals, to whom special attention must be paid to ensure their proper conservation.
In this context, climate activists are demonstrating to demand mitigation measures from the government. Although the fires have not been caused by climate change, it is true that extreme temperatures aggravate them and make their mitigation difficult . The same happens in other parts of the planet, where events such as floods and other fires are accentuated; Or, some regions of the world are experiencing unusual weather events.
Residents help mitigate fires; animals are rescued by conservation agencies; firefighters work to extinguish the flames; and NASA and ESA capture in terrible scenery from space. These are some of the most shocking images of recent months in Australia, ravaged by fire.
