Here’s a round-up of the latest out of Australia.
If you would like to be amazed and terrified, check out these Reuters maps and graphics on the fires. If you scroll down on that page, the map covered in red showing where it’s “crazy dry” is scary as f*ck.
Sydney (population: 5 million) it is surrounded by tinder dry bushland. Fires came within 15 km of the city centre yesterday before being put out.
Here’s the fire risk around Sydney today:
Yesterday, I asked a friend in jest whether Sydney could actually burn down. I didn’t think it was possible as a concept. But there’s a lot of wood in Australian houses. And it’s surrounded by bushland. Can big modern cities burn down?
Here’s a feed of live updates coming out of Australia.
One of the updates is this chilling message from New South Wales’ Rural Fire Service a few hours ago:
EMERGENCY WARNING: Carrai East Fire (Kempsey LGA)
Bush fire is burning west of Kempsey. The fire breached containment lines & is spreading quickly. If you are in the area west of Kempsey you are at risk. It is too late to leave. Seek shelter as the fire approaches.
The State of Victoria is considering adding a new category of heatwave over and above the current “extreme” level.
The new category will be called, “very extreme”.
That gets to the point.
More of the climate change subject avoidance by Australia’s deputy prime minister can be found here.
In other joyful news, a couple of the fires may have been started deliberately. What a mess.
On Sunday, it basically didn’t rain in all of continental Australia. And Australia is very, very big.
On each day these fires burn, Australia continues to export more than one million tonnes of coal.
That’s one billion kilograms, per day.
Burned, that produces around 2.6 billion kilograms of CO2.
That CO2 goes into the atmosphere, 100% man-made.
The atmosphere gets hotter.
The temperature rises.
Droughts become more frequent in Australia. Its forests become drier and burn more frequently, over longer periods of the year.
Australia green-lights a new coal mine.
Jobs are created.
Australia burns.