The spread can for instance be contained by digging earth boundaries to stop the flames from spreading. The priority is saving lives.
Professional firefighters are the first in line to battle the flames, but they are outnumbered by the thousands of volunteers. Three of them have died. There's also help coming from abroad: the US, Canada, and New Zealand have sent firefighters to help.
Australia's police, military and navy are involved in rescue and evacuation efforts. While people can flee the fires and are being evacuated if need be, the flames are devastating wildlife in the affected areas.
One study estimated that half a billion animals have died in NSW alone. Read more on how they reached that conclusion here. But the fires don't only kill animals directly, they also destroy the habitat, leaving the survivors vulnerable even once the fires have gone. So the true scale of loss isn't yet clear.
Experts say more than , cows and sheep may also have been lost , which is devastating for farmers. But the national government has come under strong criticism from its opponents that it's not been doing enough against climate change.
The country is one of the world's biggest per capita greenhouse gas emitters but under international agreements it has committed itself to reduction targets. Mr Morrison has repeatedly defended his government's stance. Do you have any questions about the Australia fires? In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise.
Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions. If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions bbc.
Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in. A visual guide to Australia's bushfire crisis. What is Australia doing to tackle climate change?
Which animals fare best and worst in fires? Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, and other cities across Australia on January 10th. Demonstrators called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and action on climate change, and they shut down some roads while demanding that Prime Minister Morrison leave office.
Big crowd at Sydney climate protest. Australia relies heavily on volunteer firefighters, especially in the rural bush where much of the fires are burning. Its fire response relies more heavily on community efforts compared to places like the United States that have centralized fire management systems.
The current crisis has led to some policy changes. As volunteers missed work to fight local blazes, Morrison announced in December that they would be compensated. To bolster the local forces, the Australian military sent in its own aircraft and vessels and 3, army reservists. Help is also coming from abroad: the United States and Canada have sent firefighters to battle the blazes. Malaysia is preparing to send help, too. Experts told The Verge that under the extreme conditions, there was not much more that firefighters could do until there was enough rainfall to stop the blazes or the fires ran out of fuel and burned themselves out.
That record was broken on December 18th when the national average temperature reached Subscribe to get the best Verge-approved tech deals of the week. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Cybersecurity Mobile Policy Privacy Scooters. Phones Laptops Headphones Cameras. Tablets Smartwatches Speakers Drones. Accessories Buying Guides How-tos Deals. Health Energy Environment. YouTube Instagram Adobe. Kickstarter Tumblr Art Club. Film TV Games. Fortnite Game of Thrones Books. The date can also change year-to-year. The bushfire season has already kicked off in Queensland.
It typically starts in late July or August. There have already been some bushfires in the sunshine state. In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority declares the start of the bushfire season for each council area.
The fire season starts in some areas around October. An additional 21 local council areas in NSW started their bushfire season on September 1 , and the bushfire season was brought forward in a lot of these areas. Western Australia's bushfire season is June to October in the north and October to April in the south. The ACT pushed back the start of its bushfire season to November 1, a month later than usual. This was due to the expectation of further rainfall in the coming months and low forest flammability.
Northern parts of the NT are in the middle of their bushfire season, which typically runs from April to November. The southern part of the territory's fire season runs from October to March. The bushfire outlook for most of Australia in spring is "normal", according to the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC chief executive Dr Richard Thornton said the organisation's seasonal bushfire outlook for September to November showed the fire season would have different climate drivers than the last two seasons in most parts of Australia.
This has been mostly due to wetter-than-average conditions.
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