In recent news, Australia has been plagued with some of the worst wildfires the country has seen in decades. Though fires have hit in most Australian areas, the state of New South Wales has gotten it the worst. Sydney and Melbourne, which are two of the largest cities in Australia, have received heavy damage to several homes. According to CNN, the smoke from the fires has gotten so bad that the air quality in Sydney measured 11 times more than what they consider the “hazardous” level. Different fires range from basic bushfires to huge infernos that swallow several acres of land.
Each year, Australia has a fire season that begins during the summer months where dry weather makes spreading fire relatively easy. It’s hard to say what starts the fires. Sometimes they are caused by lightning but sometimes careless humans can be the blame. The New South Wales police department has charged at least 24 people with purposefully starting fires. Many may wonder why the fires are so bad in Australia but their fire season is always bad. In 2009, the Black Saturday fires of Australia killed at least 173 people making it the worst bushfire disaster on record. Australia is also experiencing one of the worst droughts in several decades and climate change is not making things any better.
According to CNN, a total of 17.9 million acres have been destroyed and residents across several states have lost their homes. At least 28 people have died thus far in this year’s fire season. Efforts have been made to clear fires and save wildlife by dropping food from helicopters. Many celebrities have even helped fundraise and make large donations. Hopefully, we can see a change in the status of the fires in the near future but as of right now please keep Australia in your thoughts and prayers.