Antinuclear

Climate change and Australia’s bushfire danger

Climate Council’s Code Red bushfire warning , The Conversation Lesley Hughes Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University 9 December 2013  Australians have always had to live with bushfires – but climate change is driving that fire danger even higher.

And we’re not talking about a distant threat to future generations. According to real observations from around the country – summarisedin a new report  from the Climate Council – we can see that in Australia today, hot days are getting hotter, and heatwaves longer and more frequent.

Some parts of Australia are already becoming drier. Hot, dry conditions are driving up the likelihood of very high fire danger weather, especially in the southwest and southeast. In southeast Australia, the fire season is already becoming longer, reducing the opportunities for hazard reduction burning.

Be prepared: Climate change and the Australian bushfire threat is the Climate Council’s is our first major report since re-launching as a community-funded non-profit group just over three months ago, and it provides a comprehensive, up-to-date summary of the influence of climate change on bushfires.

December 10, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL