Australia’s three years of cooler and wetterthan-average conditions, due to a protracted
La Niña event, temporarily dampened our
bushfire risk. However, this has led to prolific
vegetation growth that’s creating powder keg
conditions for future fires. History shows that grass fires follow floods.
Firefighters fear that the spring of 2023 and
summer of 2023-2024 could see widespread
grass fires, supercharged by climate change. Australia’s protracted La Niña episode is
giving way to hotter and drier conditions
including the possible formation of an
El Niño event. As a result, we will almost
certainly see a return to normal or above
normal fire conditions across most of
Australia in coming months. Governments must prepare for a potentially
devastating fire season ahead, while stepping
up efforts to move beyond fossil fuels and
ensure greenhouse gas emissions plummet
this decade.
Authors
- Published in
- Australia
