Extreme fire conditions converged in suburban neighborhoods built into the forests, shrubland and grasslands and quickly spread.
Articles on fire weather
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Wildfire smoke can even affect the weather downwind.
After almost 60 years, scientists have been able to prove an influential theory that wet eucalypt forest regrowth is more fire prone.
Even though you may mostly hear about fires in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, it’s Africa that has far and away the most acreage burned and people exposed to fire.
Fire seasons on both sides of the Pacific overlap for seven weeks a year – and changes in Australia’s climate are driving the problem.
On land, Australia has already passed 1.5°C of warming, bringing lower streamflows, more fire weather and marine heatwaves.
Global carbon emissions from forest fires have increased by 60% over the past two decades, with the largest contributions coming from fires in Siberia and western North America.
Contrary to popular belief, new research shows the abrupt, often gale force wind changes known as “southerly busters” are becoming more frequent, but less severe, as the climate changes.
Howling winds take sea salt from the Southern Ocean and lay it down in Antarctica as snow, then ice. Hidden in these ice cores is a warning about Australian fire seasons.
Forest fires in Australia are burning more land across more of the year than ever before, as climate-linked fire weather worsens.
Top contributors
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Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO
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Professor of Engineering, University of California, Merced
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Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Boise State University; United Nations University
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Honorary Fellow, CSIRO
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Post Retirement Fellow, CSIRO
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Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
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Research associate in Climatology, University of Tasmania
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Associate Professor – Hydroclimatology, University of Newcastle
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Professor of Ocean and Climate Dynamics, University of Tasmania
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Professor, School of Mathematical And Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
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Palaeoclimatologist, Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, University of Tasmania
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Chief Scientist, Australian Antarctic Division and Professor of Climate Science, Australian National University
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Professor of Geography and Director of the Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University
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Assistant Professor and Pyrogeographer, University of Idaho
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NERC Independent Research Fellow in Climate Science, University of East Anglia