Bush fires in Australia 2019/2020

Fires in early January 2020.

Bushfires in Australia 2019/2020 describes the numerous extreme bushfires of the 2019/2020 fire season, which burned nationwide in Australia from June 2019 to March 2020 , but especially in the states of Queensland , New South Wales , Australian Capital Territory and Victoria located on the east coast , but also in South Australia , Western Australia , Tasmania and the Northern Territory .

The fires spread over an area of ​​around 126,000 km², and a state of emergency was imposed in many places . The intensity of the fires at the beginning of the fire season, the dry, warm and windy weather conditions, the unusual behavior of the fires and the direct and indirect effects on Australia's environment, including greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in the population centers, are considered unprecedented in the history of the Bushfires described in Australia . The United Nations Environment Program and scientists around the world see a connection between the extent of the fire and current global warming .

33 people died directly in the flames, and according to scientific studies, more than 445 people died as a result of air pollution from smoke. Over 4,000 people had to be treated in hospital as a result. Around 5,900 buildings burned down, including more than 3,000 residential buildings. In terms of property damage, the season was one of the worst since 1925, with 2.5 times more homes destroyed in New South Wales than in the previous worst season. There were evacuations in many places ; in Victoria on January 10, for example, around 240,000 people were asked to leave threatened areas. It is estimated that around a billion (higher) animals also died from the fires. More than 20 percent of the country's forested areas burned down. Although the situation eased in parts of the affected regions in mid-January and mid-February due to heavy rainfall, which often brought heavy hail and flash floods, large parts of the country were still in flames until the beginning of March.

A vacation by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a time when two volunteer firefighters were killed while fighting the fire, as well as his perceived apathy in the situation, sparked political controversy. Resistance is rising in parts of the Australian population against the regressive stance of the climate-skeptical Australian government.

Meteorological starting position

The fires were fueled by exceptional drought and heat . In Australia, 2019 was both the hottest and driest year on record. Australia has had a drought of several years since 2017. In 2019 there was an average of only 277 mm of rain , the lowest value since measurements began and about 40 percent less than in a normal year and another 11 percent less than 1902, the driest year before. In addition, it was exceptionally hot in 2019 at 1.52 degrees above the long-term average, in New South Wales the temperature was even 1.95 degrees above the long-term average and thus 0.3 above the previous record year 2018. December 2019 was the driest Month since record began, including the six hottest days ever recorded in Australia. On eleven days, mean continent-wide maximum temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius were measured; between 1910 and 2017 there were only four such days. In December 2019, more than three quarters of the country achieved record levels of fire hazard, while the rest of the country was largely well above average (corresponding to the top 10 percent of the scale). With a temperature of 1.88 ° C above the long-term average, the summer of 2019/20 was also the second hottest since measurements began in Australia. As early as mid-2019, climate and weather models predicted a severe fire season, forecasts that in retrospect turned out to be correct.

Maximum temperature deciles , January to November 2019

Rainfall deciles, January to November 2019

McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) in Australian Spring 2019

Wooded areas in Australia

course

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  Fire at Yanderra , December 5, 2019

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  Heaven near Nowra , December 21, 2019

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  Fire damage on the Bells Line of Road , January 5, 2020

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  Young kangaroo in the arms of a U.S. firefighter, January 2020

The fire conditions are judged by scientists to be historically unprecedented in several respects. Among other things, the 2019/20 fire season started exceptionally early. While fires in Australia usually don't start until midsummer from December, they broke out as early as June in 2019/20 and intensified from October. In contrast to normal fires in Australia, which mainly affect sparsely populated areas, this time the fires occurred in the relatively heavily populated coastal region on the east coast. The Wollemi National Park was also badly affected, where a fire with an area of ​​more than 5000 km² burned, which was described as "one of the most extensive contiguous fires [...] in the middle latitudes" ". without El Niño conditions being present, while in the past such extensive bush fires typically occurred in El Niño years.

It is also unusual that rainforests also affect types of vegetation in which fires usually do not occur and which, in contrast to bushland, are not adapted to fires. Among other things, there were fires in the Gondwana rainforests of Australia , some of which had not burned for more than 1000 years. Fires also occurred in damp eucalyptus forests, parched swamps and soils made of organic material after the water table there had dropped. The fires also set various records. According to preliminary data from NASA's Aura satellite, they released more carbon monoxide into the atmosphere within a month than any other fire outside the tropics in its 15-year operating period. In addition, the column of smoke reached a height of 25 km, the highest value ever recorded by the CALIPSO satellite .

3,000 firefighters were deployed in New South Wales and around 1,500 in Victoria. The NSW Rural Fire Service has received more than 25,000 membership requests since the fires began, compared to 4,000 in a "normal" year.

In December, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) took over logistical tasks with 900 people, such as supplying the crisis areas with fuel and water and evacuating the affected residents, tens of thousands of whom had to flee the flames. The Australian government mobilized an additional 3,000 reservists at the beginning of January, a total of over 6,500 members of the military were involved in the largest domestic operation to date. As part of Operation Bushfire Assist , the ADF transported firefighters and their equipment across the states using 13 aircraft and 20 helicopters. 3 Royal Australian Navy ships were part of the operation. The ADF carried out mapping for assessments and search and rescue flights. Various military facilities served as coordination and situation centers and to provide food and accommodation for the fire fighters. The military also coordinated state and federal services, reloaded and refueled fire-fighting aircraft, and provided humanitarian aid.

Firefighters from New Zealand (50+), the United States (81) and Canada (87) helped fight the fires. Singapore dispatched two Chinook helicopters and 42 members of the Singapore Armed Forces . Papua New Guinea dispatched 100 technicians from the Papua New Guinea Defense Force . Japan sent two Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft and 70 helpers from the country's Self-Defense Forces to provide transport support and fire fighting. Malaysia dispatched over forty firefighters and twenty other government officials. The United Arab Emirates sent 200 volunteers from the Federation's Red Crescent Organization to help fight the fire. Other countries also offered their support, including Denmark , France , Romania , Turkey , Ukraine and the United Kingdom .

Around January 20, 2020, strong thunderstorms with heavy hail hit large parts of the east coast of the country. Storms tore branches from the trees, hailstones the size of golf balls fell over the cities of Canberra and Melbourne, and large parts of Queensland were hit by storm surges. In Victoria, the rain eased the fire situation, but some bushfires were still burning there. Landslides, which led to road closures, made it difficult for heavy equipment to enter the fire-prone areas. Renewed heavy rains on the east coast reduced the fires by a third on the second weekend in February. The fire killed 34 people across Australia.

Numerous sporting events and music festivals have been canceled due to the danger and smoke development. The Apis Canberra International 2020 tennis tournament has been relocated from Canberra to Bendigo to protect players and spectators .

States Affected

New South Wales (NSW)

Afternoon sun in Gosford, NSW, November 2019

Burning house in Werombi , December 2019

Expansion 54,000 km², at times over 150 fires burned, 25 dead, 2,399 residential houses and 5,263 farm buildings burned down, 263 facilities were destroyed.

The areas of North Coast, Mid North Coast, Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury , Sydney Metropolitan Area, Southern Highlands, South Coast, Riverina and the Snowy Mountains were particularly hard hit . The fire front at times extended over a length of 6,000 km. When several small fires merged, a so-called megafire burned in the northwest of Sydney ; For several weeks the city lay under a thick blanket of smoke and dust, with the air quality index (AQI) sometimes exceeding the level of “hazardous to health” by a factor of twelve. On November 22, 2019, a lightning-generating cloud of fire ( pyrocumulonimbus ) formed over the 4110 km² area of Gospers Mountain in the Blue Mountains . Before Christmas, the Prime Minister of the state of Gladys Berejiklian declared a seven-day state of emergency.

The state government was divided on whether the traditional New Year's Eve fireworks display should take place over Sydney Harbor ; Prime Minister Berejklian was in favor of a release, while Deputy Prime Minister John Barilaro was in favor of rejection. The NSW Rural Fire Service ultimately gave the go-ahead for the fireworks display, which was able to start without incident. The state of emergency was declared again on January 2, 2020.

A night fire in the community of Cobargo devastated most of the main road and the surrounding property, killing three people.

Parts of NSW recorded heavy rainfall in mid-January with occasional flooding. The fire brigades were able to reduce the number of bushfires from well over a hundred to 75 fires in the favorable conditions that brought cooler temperatures.

On January 23, an American Lockheed C-130 Hercules fire-fighting aircraft crashed over the Peak View area northeast of Cooma . Three people on board died.

Towards the end of the month, 59 bush and grass fires were still burning in NSW, 28 of which were not yet under control. More than 1,300 firefighters use more favorable conditions to contain the spread of the fires and to strengthen the boundary lines.

The second weekend in February brought renewed "torrential rains [...] enormous relief" to the bushfire situation in NSW. The number of active fires fell by almost a third, especially in the north and northeast of the state, from more than 60 to 42 (with 17 still out of control) and soon to 38. The Currowan megafire near Shoalhaven , which has been burning for three months was extinguished by the rain, as was the megafire at Gospers Mountain about 400 km further north. However, parts of the east coast were again exposed to floods and landslides. The rains moved slowly southeast towards Sydney and parts of the Illawarra region, with Sydney receiving the highest levels of rainfall since the 1990s, falling 392 mm in four days. With the heavy rains, warnings came about water pollution from the inflow of ash and silt into drinking water reservoirs. On February 10th, five uncontrolled fires were still burning in the Bega Valley and Snowy Valley in the south of NSW, on January 13th the fire department announced that all bush and grass fires in NSW were under control for the first time since the beginning of the bushfire season. On March 3, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service announced that the fires had been extinguished after 240 days.

Victoria (VIC)

Pyrocumulonimbus over the Alpine National Park , January 4, 2020

Expansion 14,000 km², at times over 40 fires burned, 5 dead, 396 houses burned down.

The areas of East Gippsland , Mansfield , Wellington , Wangaratta , Towong , Alpine , Mount Buller , Mount Hotham , Mount Stirling , Falls Creek , and French Island were particularly hard hit .

At the turn of the year pyrocumulonimbus clouds formed over parts of VIC. On January 3rd, Prime Minister Daniel Andrews declared the state of disaster. The town of Mallacoota was caught in fires in early January, and over 4,000 people sought refuge on the beach. About 1,000 of them were evacuated on a Royal Australian Navy ship . The smoke from the fire moved over Melbourne for several days, and the air quality in the state's capital was repeatedly classified from "very bad" to "hazardous to health".

The north and northeast of VIC and Melbourne in particular recorded heavy rainfalls with hail and strong winds as well as occasional flash floods in mid-January, which eased the fire situation in these areas. The number of fires decreased to 14. After heavy rains again around February 10, three major bush fires were still active in the areas around Cape Conran, Bonang, Bendoc and Cape Howe.

South Australia (SA)

The fires spread to Kangaroo Island, Jan. 6, 2020

Extent of 49,000 km², at times over 45 simultaneous fires, 151 houses and 500 farm buildings burned down, 3 dead, 33 people injured, temperatures around 40 ° C.

The Eyre Peninsula , the Yorke Peninsula , the Adelaide Hills , the Mount Lofty Ranges , and the Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island , Australia's third largest island, were particularly hard hit . Shortly before Christmas, a lightning strike caused a fire here. Almost half of the island had burned down by January, and changing winds kept causing the fires to flare up again. Up to 100,000 sheep died in the flames. The smoke from the fires on the island severely affected air quality in the cities of Adelaide , Port Augusta , Whyalla and Port Pirie around January 10th .

Queensland (QLD)

Brisbane River under a blanket of smoke, November 2019

Expansion 25,000 km² (including steppe fires), at times over 75 fires burned, 45 houses and 58 sheds burned down.

The Sunshine Coast , Ravensbourne National Park and others were particularly hard hit . a. the place Bundamba . On November 9th, a fire emergency was declared in 42 counties in Queensland. The smoke from the fire caused severe air pollution in Brisbane with critical levels .

Large parts of QLD recorded heavy, intensive rainfall with numerous floods in mid-January. The fire departments have been withdrawn from former sources of fire in many places. Numerous localities were cut off from the outside world.

Western Australia (WA)

Fire in the southern suburbs of Perth , November 2019

Extension 22,000 km² (including steppe fires), at times over 40 fires burned down, one house and twelve buildings burned down.

Geraldton , Yanchep National Park (a gas station exploded here) and Stirling Range National Park were particularly hard hit . Around 400 people in Caiguna had to be supplied from the air around the turn of the year after they were stranded on a remote part of a highway that was cut off by fire.

In late January, an area burned around both Rockingham and the Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire and around Mundijong south of Perth. In early February there was a fire around Katanning and a dozen other places.

Tasmania (TAS)

The fire in the Orroral Valley (ACT), January 2020

Expansion of 360 km², at times over 30 fires burned down, two houses burned down.

The towns of Scamander, Elderslie, Lachlan, Swansea , the Fingal Valley and Pelham were particularly affected .

Northern Territory (NT)

Extension 68,000 km²; a common area of ​​steppe scrub burns annually in the state; five houses burned down.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Initially there were only minor fires in the territory , but a state of alarm was declared. Due to heavy smoke from fires in NSW, government offices, daycare centers and museums in Canberra were forced to close on January 5th. One person died as a result of the smoke.

On January 23, hot winds of up to 90 km / h broke out numerous fires in the area, including near Canberra Airport , which was closed. Several small fires combined to form larger fires. The alarm condition was declared. Towards the end of the month, thick smoke from fires in NSW again drifted over the city for a few days, as well as new fires in the Orroral Valley caused by a military helicopter. The fire in the Orroral Valley burned approximately 35 percent of the ACT area.

Effects

Environmental impact

According to cautious calculations by the University of Sydney , around a billion animals (mammals, birds and reptiles, excluding bats, invertebrates, insects and frogs) died in the flames across Australia over the same period. Among other things, it is estimated that by then, of the approximately 80,000 koalas living in Australia, around 33,000 had died. The Macleay River experienced a mass death of an estimated several hundred thousand fish after ash was washed into the river. More than 20 percent of the country's forest areas burned down. The WWF estimated in July 2020 that between August 2019 and March 2020 around three billion animals perished in the fires or were driven from their habitat. Reptiles are said to be most affected.

After the fire in Yamba (NSW), September 2019

Due to the loss of their habitat and food sources, the United Nations Environment Program expects further loss of surviving animals. Brendan Wintle of the University of Melbourne said the fires could lead to the extinction of some endangered species.

Michael Clarke of Melbourne's La Trobe University said, “Vegetation regrowth depends on rainfall, and it has become unpredictable. […] We see three big changes “: There are more frequent fires, they are becoming more violent and the spatial extent of the conflagrations is increasing, which reduces the ability of the animal world to recover. According to Christopher Dickman of the University of Sydney, the animals in scorched nature lack food and shelter from rain or scorching sun. In addition, they could not hide from predators such as feral cats and foxes. According to the Australian section of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), many burned forests will take decades before the trees regain sufficient size to provide a habitat for animals. Dickman estimated a century for complete recovery, the WWF at least two centuries, but some forests are irretrievably lost. The full extent of the damage can only be estimated after the fire has ended. On the other hand, fire fighters succeeded in largely protecting the world's only known Wollemien population, consisting of only around 200 trees, from being destroyed by the fire by using helicopters and ground forces.

Economic impact

Burned out shed in Hillville, NSW, November 14, 2019

Around 5,900 buildings including 2,800 residential buildings fell victim to the flames; on January 13, the number of fire claims reported to insurers was 10,550, with claims totaling A $ 939 million . Insurers see clear evidence that climate change is a risk factor for large brush fires.

The economic damage was estimated at between A $ 1.5 billion and A $ 2.5 billion (SGS Economics & Planning) through A $ 4.4 billion ( Moody's ) to A $ 5 billion ( Westpac ).

Deloitte Access Economics calculated for the Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience & Safer Communities the material damage caused by fire at A $ 103 billion and the non-material damage at A $ 127 billion. University of Queensland economist John Quiggin estimated the material damage at A $ 100 billion.

The financial firm AMP predicted that the fires will have a noticeable impact on economic growth in the country as a whole. It could be 0.25 to one percent lower, in extreme cases that would correspond to A $ 13 billion.

Sally Auld, chief economist at the US financial firm JPMorgan , stated that the direct negative effects of such disasters on gross domestic product (GDP) arise mainly from production losses and the impairment of infrastructure and productive capital. Most of the fires, however, occurred in areas that did not make a significant contribution to the gross domestic product and therefore should not affect Australia's economic growth. AMP's Shane Oliver estimated that the conflagration could lower gross domestic product by up to 0.25 percentage points.

In agriculture, 46,000 farm animals were lost to the fire. 30 percent of the sheep and 20 percent of the cattle population are either directly or partially affected by the fires. More than 4,600 beehives were destroyed and another 23,000 suffered significant losses. Almost the entire 2020 vintage of the grape harvest in and around Canberra is considered contaminated because of the heavy smoke from the bushfires, and a third of the grape harvest in the Adelaide Hills was destroyed.

The Australian Tourism Industry Council announced that the bushfires had already cost the national tourism industry "hundreds of millions" of A $. In addition, the impression that “the whole country is on fire” would damage the Australian brand internationally. In the first two weeks of 2020, international bookings fell by 20 to 30 percent, and the number of requests for trips to Australia fell by almost 40 percent. In particular, visitors from high-turnover markets such as the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, France and China stayed away from the country. The loss of the industry in 2020 is forecast by the association to be A $ 4.5 billion. Tourism Australia chief executive Phillipa Harrison said: “We're not trying to gloss over the fact that the bushfires were devastating and tragic, but the problem now is to give potential visitors to Australia the right information that most of Australia is not affected by the fires is affected. […] Travel to Australia with confidence, it's safe. ”A January video from the agency is titled Visit Australia in 2020 - They're Open for Business and includes the message common Australians uttered:“ Our doors are open. We would be happy to see you here ”.

Comparison of tourism / agriculture / coal / iron ore in Australia
financial year 2018-2019

Industry	Employees	Value in A $ billions	Scope / evidence	Share of GDP in percent
tourism	660,000	60.8	total	3.1
Agriculture	284,600	10	total	2.46
coal	38,000	67	only export	3.5
Iron ore	53,000	63	only export	3.3

Impact on the environment

Up until the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, Australia's forests were climate-neutral by essentially re- absorbing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide released by fires, which causes climate change . Scientists at the Global Fire Emissions Database estimated in January 2020 that the 2019/2020 fires released around 900 million tons of carbon dioxide into the earth's atmosphere. For comparison: Australia's power generation, transport, agriculture and industry released around 540 million tons of carbon dioxide from March 2018 to March 2019; in 2018, commercial aircraft emitted 918 million tons worldwide.

The increased greenhouse gas emissions in Australia due to the bushfires will in 2020 lead to the highest annual increase in the global carbon dioxide content in the earth's atmosphere since measurements began in 1958 and thus contribute to further global warming and frequency will release further emissions. The United Nations Environment Program sees this as “a deeply worrying climate feedback”. According to climate researcher Ina Tegen from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig, the fires in Australia are affecting the global climate. The smoke initially dampens the sun's rays for a few weeks; In the long term, however, the additional carbon dioxide emissions increase the greenhouse effect. According to Mark Howden of the Australian National University , a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , there is feedback between plants and climate that has a direct impact on the risk of future forest fires. When it is dry, for example, the cooling effect is reduced by evaporation. Trees normally release most of the water they have absorbed from the ground through tiny pores in their leaves as water vapor, thus cooling the surrounding air. In the event of a drought, this process would stall, the drier - the hotter. In addition, the soil dries out faster in the heat.

Ashes on Newcastle Beach , December 2019

Ashes and other debris caused by fire spread with the wind in the countryside or in the sea. Thus, large amounts of ash landed on Australia's beaches, drinking water tanks and water intakes . Reservoirs are usually located in forested areas, making them particularly vulnerable to pollution from ash, which contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus . Increased concentrations of nutrients stimulate the growth of cyanobacteria , which creates a number of problems for the quality of drinking water, including bad taste, odor, and toxic chemicals. For example, the Warragamba Dam outside of Sydney is a cause for concern, with 80 to 90 percent of its catchment area burned. The dam supplies 3.7 million people with water. In January, two silt curtains were put into operation here to catch material such as silt and ash.

The heavy rains in January brought the nutrients from burnt soils into streams and rivers; Ash that fell into the sea released these substances and fertilized aquatic plants and algae . The additional nutrients can be of moderate use, but too much will lead to overfertilization and excessive algae growth. Growing algae absorb oxygen from the water, which suffocates fish and other aquatic life. Experience from other fire disasters shows that over-fertilization of the sea can lead to the reproduction of plankton and thus suffocate coral reefs .

An image taken by the Japanese weather satellite Himawari 8 shows the smoke from the fires obscuring New Zealand's South Island , January 2020

The smoke caused by the fires could temporarily still be heard in New Zealand and South America .

Ashes came to New Zealand with the smoke of the fires, spreading over the country's glacier areas, which are also snow-covered in summer, making them appear caramel-colored. White snow is highly reflective and reflects sunlight relatively strongly. The darker the color of the snow, the more the reflectivity decreases and the more heat the glaciers absorb. According to Andrew Mackintosh of Monash University in Melbourne, the deposited ash has the potential to increase the rate of glacier melt in New Zealand by 20 to 30 percent this season, with the effects not likely to last much longer than a year. Since the 1970s, the glaciers have already lost a third of their snow and ice volume due to global warming.

The smoke from the bush fires crossed the Pacific Ocean over 11,000 kilometers to Chile , where particles of smoke turned the cloudless sky over central Chile gray. In Argentina , the smoke was visible from southern Patagonia to the central provinces of Córdoba and Buenos Aires at an altitude of around 5000 meters. Then he moved on to the Atlantic Ocean and reached South Africa . In January the smoke had circled the world and was returning to Australia.

Health effects

Haze of smoke in Sydney, December 2019

The fires caused a sharp increase in air pollution in large parts of the country as a result of the smoke , which affected 80% of Australians. According to the committee of inquiry, more than 4,700 people had to be treated in the hospital due to the effects of smoking, 1,373 of them in the emergency room. More than 445 people died as a result of the air pollution caused by the fires. In January, Canberra measured the worst air quality index of any major city in the world. On another day Melbourne reported the worst air quality in the world. In Sydney, residents have been instructed not to leave their homes if possible due to the unhealthy level of air pollution and to seek medical help if necessary. The air in the city at times contained 734 micrograms of fine dust per m³, which corresponded to the smoke from 37 cigarettes.

In New South Wales and Victoria, the number of respiratory distress such as asthma attacks rose by about 50 percent in early January. The New South Wales Department of Health distributed more than a million respirators in affected areas. In December 2019, medical associations stated in a statement that smoke exposure was a health emergency.

The fires didn't just cause physical damage; many people have been psychologically traumatized by experiences such as emergency evacuation and the loss of homes, pets, belongings, livestock or other livelihoods . For example, residents of some communities were unable to respond to evacuation requests in good time because, for example, power outages had put petrol stations out of service; others were stuck in high-risk areas due to highway closures or were forced to go to beaches and boats, where they spent the night with their children and witnessed unprecedented firestorms. According to the United Nations Environment Program, such experiences can be expected to have lasting effects on the mental health of residents of affected communities. 10.6 million Australians, or more than half of Australian adults, were concerned for their own safety and that of their family or friends.

Brett McDermott, child and adolescent psychiatrist and former chairman of the independent Australian nonprofit Beyond Blue , which deals with depression, suicide, anxiety and other mental disorders, said in January that many people suffered from mental illness in the months of the fires would develop. Then Australians would need to raise their collective awareness of the signs and symptoms of emotional illness. Detecting symptoms early is critical to providing adequate support.

Effects on cultural heritage

The bushfires destroyed numerous archaeological sites. Thousands of years old rock carvings have flaked off under the enormous heat. Taking stock is difficult.

Australian policy reactions

Federal government

Liberal Party of Australia

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia , who is considered a climate skeptic , came under strong criticism during the bushfires after he played down the threat of climate change and the share of coal mining in Australia (Australia is the second largest coal exporter in the world). There is "no credible evidence" for a connection between the climate crisis and the bushfires. However, the current state of research is that global warming has a clear influence on such extreme events. In its fourth assessment report published in 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) stated that there was a 99 to 100 percent probability that it was “almost certain” that heat waves and fires in Australia would intensify and occur more frequently.

Morrison, however, rejected “rash” calls for restrictions on the coal industry and changes to Australia's current climate targets. In the Paris Agreement , Australia committed itself to reducing carbon emissions by 26–28 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. To meet these goals, the country is the only one in the world to use so-called “carryover credits”, whereby it wants to offset the amount of carbon dioxide it had saved under an earlier commitment against the 2030 goals. The aim is to reduce emissions by 695 mega-tons by 2030; 367 mega tons of it - around half of the savings - should come from the credits.

Australia earns around 45 billion euros a year from coal exports, and there are close ties between the coal industry and the Morrison government. Australia was ranked 57th in its climate protection index , making it one of the lower places. The Morrison administration was referred to herein as "an increasingly regressive force". Morrison stated, “Australia and the Australian Government will align their policies with our national interests. We will do in Australia what we think is right for Australia. ”He said he was not there to“ impress the people overseas ”.

At the beginning of the fires, a group of former fire service executives from various states criticized the prime minister; who, according to her, had ignored her warning of the impending disaster and the reference to the need for fire-fighting aircraft. Morrison refused to meet with them because his government "generally doesn't like to talk about climate change." Morrison came under political pressure as he dodged questions about a link between government inaction in combating climate change and the bushfires. Ultimately, he admitted that climate change contributed to the bush fires.

The Prime Minister came under further pressure in December 2019 when he went on vacation with his family to the Hawaiian island chain during the bushfires and had the trip through his office denied, even when asked by journalists. Morrison later apologized for the "trouble his vacation was causing many Australians" and traveled back to Sydney. A lot of the media had their headlines based on Morrison's tourism slogan from his time as head of Tourism Australia with ScoMo, Where the Bloody Hell Are You? ( ScoMo, where the hell are you? ) Titled.

Morrison was further criticized for refusing compensation for loss of income to volunteer firefighters on duty. In New South Wales alone, 90 percent of the fire services are volunteers. He later gave in and agreed to compensation. Volunteers can now receive A $ 300 tax-free per day up to a total of A $ 6000 under certain conditions.

On January 5, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a National Bushfire Recovery Agency , a federal agency charged with helping those affected by the bushfires. The organization will initially have a budget of A $ 2 billion and be under the direction of former Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police Andrew Colvin. The announcement of the new agency was accompanied by a video posted on social media by Morrison's office. It detailed the government's response to the fires, including funding for fire-fighting equipment. Parodies of the video were quickly making the rounds on social media, with many criticizing the release as a political advertisement at a time when firefighters were on the fire front ahead of one of the most dangerous days.

After the forced draft of 3,000 reservists (the largest in Australian history) to support the fire services, Morrison was again heavily criticized because the mobilization was not coordinated with the country's fire services. Soon after, Morrison posted a video on behalf of the Liberal Party about the use of military personnel and equipment in response to the bushfires, which was widely criticized as inappropriate and out of date political advertisements.

The Liberal Party received further criticism for a donation button on its website that incorrectly led to a party's donation page instead of the Bushfire Aid website; the button was later removed.

While visiting the fire- ravaged town of Cobargo , New South Wales, Morrison tried to shake hands with two local residents, including a firefighter, who refused to take his outstretched hand. Morrison has been criticized for taking hands and then shaking them against her will. During this visit, Morrison was criticized and verbally abused by some of the local residents.

In an interview conducted in January by Piers Morgan with the Australian Liberal Party politician Craig Kelly , who said that the causes of the fires were the high fuel loads in Australian forests rather than climate change, Morgan replied: “Climate change and global warming are real and australia is showing the whole world right now how devastating they are. […] It is an absolute shame that Australian leaders are still pretending to be disconnected. ”Shortly thereafter, Morrison banned Liberal MPs from giving international media interviews.

Demonstrations on January 10, 2020

Brisbane

Melbourne

Perth

On January 10th, several tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations in several of the country's major cities against the government's anti-coal policy. In interviews, Morrison said he was “disappointed” that climate policy and the bushfires would be “thrown together” in the public debate. "We don't want goals and targets that destroy or damage jobs and the economy," said Morrison. He found the accusation that someone's climate policy had directly contributed to one of these fire incidents "simply ridiculous" and "absurd".

In an interview on Jan. 12, Morrison said that Australians now expected the federal government and defense forces to respond more directly to national emergencies. He also promised a commission of inquiry ( Royal Commission ), which should consider a connection between the fires and climate change and the interaction between the states in order to formulate a long-term strategy against the threat of further catastrophic fires. It is "undisputed" that climate change is causing "longer, hotter, drier summers", but he still refused to raise his government's targets. The cabinet and its government will continue to develop existing measures to achieve or exceed these goals. In an opinion poll published on the same day, Morrison had lost massive support from voters and was overtaken as prime minister of choice by Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party .

A draft for the scope of the Commission's investigation that became public in early February also included "the threat of climate change."

On February 11, dozens filed by survivors of the bush fire burned out rubble of their homes a "path of destruction" ( trail of destruction ) from the parliament building to the offices of the mining lobby group in Canberra. In their protest, the demonstrators called on politicians to cut ties with the coal industry.

National Party of Australia

Michael McCormack, deputy prime minister and coalition partner of the National Party of Australia (representing mostly rural electorate), called climate critics “completely crazy city dwellers” who dared to associate climate change with bushfires in November 2019. Those affected by the fires now need “understanding and real help” such as “accommodation” and not the “chatter of some pure, enlightened, left-wing greenies from the capital [...]”.

Barnaby Joyce, chairman of the National Party until 2018 and former vice head of government, said shortly thereafter that two of the burn victims in the same month were "likely" voters for the Australian Greens . Alluding to the activist Greta Thunberg , he commented: “I don't want to hear from screaming Scandinavians how to deal with bushfires. It's like providing Norway with a report on icebergs. "

opposition

Australian Labor Party

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party said in December that Australia could continue to export coal while pursuing strong climate policies. The suspension of Australian coal exports would only result in other countries increasing their supplies. In January he stressed that climate change played a role in the recent bushfire crisis as "one of several factors". He recommended an orientation towards the research results of scientists and experts. In the face of climate change, his country cannot bury its head in the sand and pretend that climate change has no effects.

Albanese called for a pricing mechanism for emissions and a target for renewable energies. The economic and health damage caused by the fires invalidated the view that reducing emissions was too expensive. It is time “those who are now saying, 'Oh, climate change is nonsense. Acting against climate change will cost us dearly - get an idea of ​​the costs of inactivity because they are astronomical. It's happening right in front of all of us. "

Australian Greens

Adam Bandt , one of the vice-chairmen of the Australian Greens , stated in November 2019 that if Australia continues to produce coal at its current level, the country will contribute to exacerbating global warming, making future bushfires more likely and more intense. The Green Senate member Jordon Steele-John had previously called colleagues from the government coalition "arsonists". Bandt accused the Liberal Party and Labor Party of valuing coal more than human life. “Coal fuels the fires, coal fuels the drought and coal fuels the smoke over Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. [...] If you don't have a plan to phase out coal, then you have no plan to deal with the climate crisis. We [Australia] have stopped selling asbestos and we have to stop exporting coal too, ”Bandt said in December 2019.

Greens chairman Richard Di Natale called the claim that his party would not support preventive measures such as hazard-reduction burning "a lie". The 2019/2020 fires would "tragically become the new normal" due to the "climate crisis the world is facing".

Pauline Hanson's One Nation

Pauline Hanson , party leader of the right-wing populist and Islamophobic Pauline Hanson's One Nation and member of the Australian Senate , accused the Australian Greens and Australian Labor Party in mid-November 2019 of having contributed to igniting the “bushfire crisis” in Australia. "Left-wing" parties have contributed to the spread of bushfires by refusing to implement fire reduction measures such as the removal of combustible materials in the bush. Global warming has "nothing to do with the [...] bushfires". She called the federal government's provision of A $ 2 billion to rebuild destroyed homes "pathetic." If the state commission of inquiry proposed by Prime Minister Morrison is set up, the effects of climate change, which she does not deny, must by no means be taken into account for the coming decades, according to Hanson. She justified her view with the fact that even the short-term weather forecasts for the next 7 to 10 days were not correct.

disinformation

On the Internet

The Australian Federal Minister of Communications Paul Fletcher appealed in January to the Australian public to show a “healthy skepticism” about reports published on the Internet about the bushfires. The reason for this was a disinformation campaign on social media which, under the hashtag #ArsonEmergency, claimed that arson was the sole cause of the Australian bush fire emergency.

Timothy Graham, social media expert at the Queensland University of Technology , analyzed 1500 tweets from over 300 user accounts with the hashtag #ArsonEmergency for features that are typically associated with bots and trolls . Its results suggested a “coordinated disinformation campaign” which spread the theory that arsonists alone caused the fires. The information was extracted from an article in The Australian ( News Corp. ) magazine that falsely reported that 183 arsonists had been arrested since the beginning of the bushfire season. In fact, only 24 people were accused of deliberately starting fires. At the same time, the campaign tries to discredit reports that climate change has contributed to the severity and length of the bushfire season.

Preventive backburning in Townsville (QLD), 2001

Numerous posts dealt with the political party of the Australian Greens , which allegedly prevented preventive backburning measures. In the cooler months of the year, it is the practice in Australia to start controlled fires in the bushland (so-called backburning , also hazard-reduction burning or fuel-reduction burning , German also pre-fire ), as a preventive measure to prevent more intense fires during the fire season. In fact, the Greens support such preventive measures, and the party has no possibility of such a blockade, as it only holds one of 151 seats in the Australian Parliament . Former New South Wales Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins agreed that in fact too few preventive fires had been started to effectively prevent major season bushfires. However, he pointed out that with the extreme drought, which has been accompanied by decreasing precipitation for 20 years, the time window for measures to reduce the risk has become very small. With the reduction of forest and national park personnel, these measures are now in the hands of voluntary helpers, who are mainly only available on weekends. Richard Thornton, director of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Center , added that many of these measures could not be carried out because the deliberately set fires could get out of hand and cause damage to property and the growing population, particularly on the outskirts exposed to critical amounts of smoke. The tolerance threshold of the communities for heavy smoke and possible damage to sensitive ecosystems is very low.

Other theories spread over the Internet suggested that the fires were deliberately started to expose construction sites for the benefit of a high-speed rail line, that the Islamic State was responsible for the fires, or that the fires were deliberately false flagged by climate and environmentalists .

Timothy Graham explained that as a result of the environmental disaster, Australia was suddenly flooded with misinformation and exaggerated polarization, which made it increasingly difficult for its citizens to see the truth. In terms of size, the campaign is not comparable to similar campaigns such as the 2016 presidential election in the USA , but the largest in Australian history to date. The aim is to attack the scientific evidence on climate change to suggest that it is not real.

Further confusion arose from the spread of incorrectly interpreted imagery, such as a supposed satellite photo of the bush fires that was created from correct NASA data and showed all the fires that occurred in the period from December 5, 2019 to January 20, 2020 in Australia had burned. These fires did not take place at the same time, however, in this arrangement the picture conveyed an exaggerated current state to many, not ultimately because of the representation of the fires by glowing colors. The picture was shared widely on social networks around the world. Other graphic representations were also disseminated there and were also criticized.

In Murdoch media

The majority of the media, including television stations such as Sky News Australia or the pay-TV provider Foxtel , the daily newspaper The Australian , national tabloids and numerous regional and local newspapers, is controlled and supported by the neo-conservative media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch ( News Corp. ) political course of the ruling Liberal Party of Australia . The Murdoch press group repeatedly reported false facts and figures on the climate and fire crisis, although these were refuted several times by independent experts.

Damien Cave of The New York Times pointed out that News Corp. would increasingly spread misinformation in its media about the lackluster response of the Australian government to the fires. He cited examples in which the Murdoch press shifted responsibility for the fires to the left, reported benevolently on conservative politicians and diverted attention from climate change. This includes the myth that the Greens prevented preventive backburning measures, which are now destroying houses and costing lives. In addition, it has repeatedly been reported that the fires of this fire season were no worse than those of the past. The role of arson had been exaggerated, and the Murdoch media were the loudest defenders of Prime Minister Morrison when he was criticized for his vacation in Hawaii at the height of the fire. It is noticeable that online trolls and bots would like to adopt these arguments. The Tagesspiegel also reported "playing down a crisis" and "abusive commentators" in the Murdoch press.

Michael Mann, atmospheric scientist and one of the main authors of the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate , complained that the "Murdoch media empire" Hand in hand with the right-wing together working government to do much for fossil fuels, attackiere the science behind climate change and block attempts Take action against the climate crisis.

The way of reporting also aroused criticism within the media group. An employee from the management of News Corp. Australia accused the organization in an email that it also distributed to its employees, to its chief executive officer Michael Miller, of a "misinformation campaign" with "irresponsible" and "dangerous" reporting on the bushfire crisis. The email was removed from the employees' mailboxes within an hour. The employee left the company in December. On January 15, Murdoch's son, James News Corp. and Fox for continued denial of the role of climate change in Australian bushfire coverage.

donate

Donations to various relief funds and fire service organizations raised nearly A $ 500 million. Australian companies raised more than A $ 180 million of this. A fundraising appeal from Australian comedian Celeste Barber raised A $ 51 million for the NSW Rural Fire Service . Numerous Australian and international celebrities donated amounts in the millions.

Aid organizations such as Australian Red Cross , Vinnies , The Salvation Army and the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) received large parts of these donations. Families who had lost their homes received A $ 10,000 as an immediate measure, and families of those who died received A $ 20,000. Aid organizations received public criticism for the process of making the donated funds available, which was perceived as too slow. Among the critics was the Deputy Prime Minister of New South Wales, John Barilaro. The aid organizations replied that funds were also planned for medium and long-term use in projects such as the mental recovery of affected communities. Large portions of the donations would be used in coordination with the government and community groups for ongoing reconstruction efforts over the next three years.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported more than 400 bushfire fundraising scams as of late January. The Australian Competition and Consumers Commission (ACCC) had already received 86 complaints in early January about fraud related to the bushfires, such as requests for cashless donations via online crowdfunding via GoFundMe or misleading links on Twitter . According to Australia's GoFundMe regional manager Nicola Britton, employees of the company are engaged “around the clock” to prevent such fraud. In total, since November 2019, almost 500,000 donations with a total value of more than A $ 30 million have been received from more than 170 countries on the platform she represents.

reception

From former prime ministers

Malcolm Turnbull (2015-2018)

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the Liberal Party and predecessor Morrisons in office wrote in a guest article for the American news magazine Time : “Australia's fires this summer - unprecedented in their devastation - are the cruel but inevitable reality of global warming. A hotter, drier climate means more and longer periods of drought and more and more violent fires. [...] There are no more excuses and there is not much time left. Australia and the world now need a green new deal . ”In an interview with the BBC on January 22nd, he harshly criticized his successor Morrison, who did not act“ like a prime minister would and should ”, but instead the bushfire crisis "Downplayed". Australia is “at the forefront of the consequences” of the climate crisis and, as a “progressive, prosperous, technologically highly developed country”, must seriously deal with this issue, also as a role model for other countries.

Tony Abbott (2013-2015)

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party said in an interview with Israeli radio on December 15, 2019 that the world is "in the grip of a climate cult" and denied that carbon dioxide is driving global warming. The show host Eran Mor-Cicurel was surprised by Abbott's views: "I would not have expected a former Prime Minister of Australia to speak so bluntly about environmental issues in the midst of an environmental crisis in Australia." Angry listeners had complained to the station that that such "extremist views" had been given airtime.

Julia Gillard (2010-2013)

The former Prime Minister Julia Gillard from the Labor Party thanked “all the heroes” of the “bushfire tragedy” in mid-January, “especially the firefighters and their families who support them”. In particular, she pointed to the vulnerability of children and adolescents to mental illness as an emotional impact of the disaster. In her capacity as chair of the Australian non-profit organization Beyond Blue , which deals with depression, suicide, anxiety and other mental disorders, she welcomed the Australian federal government for a contribution of $ 8 million to support mental recovery in the United States Kindergartens and schools affected by the bushfires.

Kevin Rudd (2007-2010, 2013)

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of the Labor Party called the federal government's response to the bushfire crisis "evasive, lukewarm, senseless and, above all, too late". Instead of really working hard with a strong reaction in the face of one of the worst natural disasters in Australian history, the government is merely practicing “ issue management ”.

John Howard (1996-2007)

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard believed Scott Morrison had coped well with the “very difficult” bushfire crisis, but recommended that he work more closely with the states. The Australians would have to leave their badly chosen vacation time behind and judge their actions fairly on site.

Paul Keating (1991-1996)

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating from the Labor Party did not take you directly to the bushfires position, but stated already in May 2019 on climate change that the world will stop using fossil fuels. With its support for the coal industry, the Liberal Party is living "in the past".

In a joint guest article in The Sydney Morning Herald in May 2019 with former Prime Minister Bob Hawke (1983-1991), who died just a few days later, Keating described that the Liberal Party had subscribed to economic obscurantism and was trying to use 19th century technology in the energy sector. The party completely did not understand the economic imperative of climate change [...].

To Scott Morrison

Australian Broadcasting Corporation political commentator David Speers summed up Scott Morrison's behavior during the bushfires: “The Prime Minister is being accused of being late [on the scene], blaming the [states] and then trying to raise political capital beating out of the crisis. […] It is generally recognized within the government that the prime minister lost his lucky hand during the bushfire crisis. It wasn't his best moment, to say the least. "

Shane Fitzsimmons, chief fire officer in New South Wales, certified Morrison as lacking "basic professional courtesy". He found it “very disappointing” that he had to learn of the mobilization of the military from the media “on one of the worst fire days since records began, amid massive flows of refugees and extremely difficult weather conditions”.

Former Australian TV presenter Barrie Cassidy described the video published by Morrison on mobilizing the reservists as “absolutely obscene”, Australian journalist Peter van Onselen said it was “more than inappropriate”, British political reporter Piers Morgan saw it as “one thing of the most senseless things ”that, in his experience,“ published a leader of a country during a crisis ”.

In science and research

More than 250 Australian researchers wrote an open letter on February 4th calling on the government to "urgently reduce" greenhouse gas emissions and thus protect the climate. In their declaration they pointed out the connection between climate change and natural disasters such as the current bushfires.

Julie Bishop , former Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia ( Liberal Party ) from 2013 to 2018, said in her new capacity as Rector of the Australian National University in early February 2020 that Australia "needed action on several fronts", including leadership, after a disastrous bushfire season international efforts against climate change and the reduction of emissions beyond the electricity sector.

When Prime Minister Morrision was still the Treasurer in 2017 , the federal government almost stopped funding the Australian Research Institute for Adaptation to Climate Change ( NCCARF). In January 2020, the director of the Jean Palutikof Institute saw the country's research landscape weakened by this decision and in a worse position than it was 10 years ago in order to counter the fires, the drought and other effects of global warming.

Ross Garnaut, professor of economics at the Australian National University and senior research fellow in economics at the University of Melbourne , believed that Australia could have zero emissions and still benefit from its natural resources. The bushfire crisis could have been avoided if, as part of a global effort, Australia had "done a lot more much sooner". The tragedy built up over a long time; the situation would continue to deteriorate until the world's net greenhouse gas emissions are zero. He suggested making hydrogen using renewable energies. The country could thus produce steel or aluminum on site from its natural resources such as bauxite and aluminum oxide without burning coal and thus become world leader in this field. “Australia is by far the largest exporter of aluminum and iron ores. If the world produces aluminum and iron with zero emissions, then we are where that should be done, “which would be good for the economy.

The think tank The Australia Institute argued that the Australian taxpayer should not pay for the immense damage alone. The coal and natural gas industry should also participate through a fee. A modest tax of A $ 1 per tonne of carbon emissions from fossil fuel production would bring in about A $ 1.5 billion per year.

Frank Jotzo, professor at the Australian National University and head of the Center for Climate and Energy Policy , hoped that in 2020 the political debate on climate change will focus on what is actually feasible and not on whether or not to act. He predicted that “politicians of all stripes” would fall by the wayside if they did not pursue a sensible climate policy. “Your legacy is at stake. [...] You have to lead. [...] Your biggest problem will be the Murdoch media, some rabid backbenchers and a few coal companies. But after all, you're in charge, aren't you? "

The Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest repeatedly took the view that the fires were primarily due to the pollution of the forests by combustible material and arson, with climate change only playing a subordinate role. Science has "still a long way to go". He called on international donors to finance his foundation, with which "new climate research", secured in the scientific peer review , should be carried out. His fundraising goal would be A $ 500 million, to which he contributed A $ 50 million for building resilience to natural disasters.

The Australian author Richard Flanagan said in the New York Times that Australia was committing "climate suicide". Both major parties ( Liberals and Labor ) received donations from the fossil fuel industry. Robinson Myer of the American magazine The Atlantic argued that, under the current political conditions, Australia will "lose to climate change". “It is entirely possible that the fires will push Australian politics in an increasingly besieged and even more regressive direction, empowering politicians like Morrison to stand against any change. Australia will probably get caught in the climate spiral and cling to coal more than ever, while the country's cities are suffocating on the ashes of a burning world. "

Benjamin Sanderson and Rosie Fisher from the research institutes Center Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique (CERFACS) in Toulouse and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder (Colorado) concluded that a further increase in CO ₂ emissions the conditions of the summer 2019/2020 would represent the average in 2040 and an exceptionally cool year in 2060. They warned that the previous climate models could underestimate the effects on Australia: "Further increasing emissions will bring us into an increasingly unpredictable climate zone, where the consequences could be more extreme than predicted."

In Germany

The German concern Siemens was asked by the movement Fridays for Future, with reference to the bushfires, to stop developing a new coal mine, the Carmichael Mine (one of the largest coal mines in the world), by the Indian Adani Group in eastern Australia to contribute. Siemens is to deliver signal systems for tracks. However, Siemens wants to hold on to the delivery, according to CEO Joe Kaeser they are contractually obliged to do so. Climate activists criticize the decision as an "inexcusable mistake".

German politicians like Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Thomas Hacker (FDP) spoke out in view of the fires in favor of suspending the RTL show Ich bin ein Star - Get me out of here! out.

literature

• Australia suffers devastating bushfires. In: World Meteorological Organization of January 7, 2020.
• Diana Greenslade, Leon Majewski, Linden Ashcroft, Jaclyn Brown, Christine Chung, Chantal Donnelly, Justin Freeman, Deryn Griffiths, Val Jemmeson, Ian Smith (Eds.): Forecasting for the Future: New science for improved weather, water, ocean and climate services - Abstracts of the Bureau of Meteorology Annual R&D Workshop. Melbourne, November 2019.
• State of the Climate. In: Bureau of Meteorology and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization , 2018

See also

• Bushfire in Australia

Remarks

1. ↑ Number of participants in the demonstrations:
   Sydney - over 30,000 [1]
   Brisbane - over 3000 [2]
   Adelaide - over 3000 [3]
   Melbourne - several thousand [4]
   Perth - several hundred [5] to 1500 [6]

Web links

Commons : 2019–20 Australian bushfire season  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Map with a current snapshot of the fires in Australia. In: myfirewatch.landgate.wa.gov.au
• Australia is on fire: a visual overview of the 2019/2020 bushfires. (Original title: Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. ) In: British Broadcasting Corporation of January 13, 2020.
• Martin Jäschke: Scenes from Australia. The scorched land. In: Spiegel Online from January 19, 2020.
• In photos: Bushfires rage through Australia. (Original title: In photos: Bushfires rage through Australia. ) In: CNN 23 January 2020.
• A summer full of smoke and fire: photo gallery of the 2019/2020 bushfires. (Original title: A summer of smoke and fire. ) In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation from January 25, 2020.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Joel Werner, Suzannah Lyons: The size of Australia's bushfire crisis captured in five big numbers. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of March 5, 2020.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Ten impacts of the Australian bushfires. In: UN Environment of January 22, 2020.
3. ↑ David Bowman: The causes of unprecedented bushfires are complex but climate change is part of the puzzle. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 12, 2019.
   Fires across Australia: Unprecedented disaster as we brace for a horror weekend. In: 7news.com.au of January 2, 2020.
   Adam Morton: Yes, Australia has always had bushfires: but 2019 is like nothing we've seen before. In: The Guardian of December 25, 2019.
   The Australian bushfires — why they are unprecedented. In: Australian Academy of Science of February 3, 2020.
4. ^ Fergus Hunter: Australia's top scientists urge government to do more on global warming. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 11, 2020.
   Tara Law Australia's Wildfires and Climate Change Are Making One Another Worse in a Vicious, Devastating Circle. In: Time from January 7, 2020.
   Scientists paint Australia fires as red alert on climate change. In: The Japan Times of January 12, 2020.
   There is no strong, resilient Australia without deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. An open letter on the scientific basis for the links between climate change and bushfires in Australia. In: australianbushfiresandclimatechange.com from February 4, 2020.
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Australia's severe bushfire season was predicted and will be repeated, inquiry told . In: The Guardian , May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Australia bushfires: Hundreds of deaths linked to smoke, inquiry hears . In: British Broadcasting Corporation , May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
7. ↑ Examples are:
   Calla Wahlquist, Helen Davidson, Luke Henriques-Gomes: Summary: Pleas to evacuate remain ahead of horror bushfire conditions. In: The Guardian of January 3, 2020.
   Sara Garcia: Kangaroo Island scorched with 'unprecedented' ferocity by bushfires as CFS saves township. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of January 10, 2020.
   Firebugs blamed for destructive Queensland fires. In: 9news.com.au of December 20, 2019.
   Angelica Snowden, Rachel Baxendale, Stephen Lunn, Debbie Schipp: Bushfire emergency: Ten dead in NSW, Victoria, as evacuations continue at Mallacoota, South Coast. In: The Australian of January 4, 2020.
8. ↑ Australia calls on 240,000 citizens to evacuate. In: Spiegel Online com January 10, 2020.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Jack Guy: After more than 240 days, Australia's New South Wales is finally free from bushfires. In: CNN of March 3, 2020.
10. ↑ Johannes Korge: Australian Prime Minister relativizes fire disaster. All because of the coal. In: Spiegel Online from January 2, 2020. The
    situation in Australia is coming to a head: Canberra airport has to close due to fire. In: Frankfurter Rundschau of January 23, 2020.
    Bushfire crisis forces a reckoning on Australia's 'regressive' climate politics. In: France 24 of January 10, 2020.
11. ↑ Meteorologists report the driest and hottest year in history. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 9, 2020.
12. ↑ Australia records worst December fire conditions after its hottest, third year. In: The Guardian of January 8, 2020.
13. ↑ Australia's summer of 2019-20 country's second-hottest on record. In: The Guardian of March 2, 2020.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Australia bushfires factcheck: are this year's fires unprecedented? In: The Guardian of November 22, 2019.
    Why these unprecedented walls of flames? In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 18, 2020.
15. ^ Andree Withey: Bushfire season starts early across northern Australia due to ongoing hot, dry conditions. In: ABC News of June 27, 2019.
16. ↑ It burns and burns and burns. In: The time of January 10, 2020.
17. ↑ Joelle Gergis, Geoff Cary: Some say we've seen bushfires worse than this before. But they're ignoring a few key facts . In: The Conversation of January 13, 2020.
18. ↑ This time it burns differently. In: Die Zeit of January 5, 2020.
    “The political reaction is shocking.” In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of November 22, 2019.
19. ^ Australian Smoke Plume Sets Records . Nasa Earth Observatory, January 26, 2020. Accessed February 1, 2020.
20. ^ Frances Mao: Australia fires: The thousands of volunteers fighting the flames. In: British Broadcasting Corporation of December 24, 2019.
21. ↑ ^{a b c} Amaani Siddeek: Australia fires: heavy rain and cooler temperatures 'unlikely' to end bushfire threat. In: The Guardian of January 17, 2020.
22. ^ Maani Truu " Exclusive: Tens of thousands rush to become volunteer firefighters amid bushfires. In: Special Broadcasting Service of January 14, 2020.
23. ↑ ^{a b c d} PM flags law changes to deal with bushfires in response to 'clear community expectation'. In: Special Broadcasting Services of January 29, 2020.
24. ↑ Fires in Australia: warships are supposed to free encircled vacationers. In: Spiegel Online from January 2, 2020.
25. ^ Sarah McPhee: 'Prioritization list': Navy to evacuate hundreds trapped in Mallacoota, East Gippsland. In: news.com.au of January 2, 2020.
26. ↑ ^{a b} NSW, Victoria fires: Australian bushfires cause tens of Thousands to flee in mass evacuation - live. In: The Guardian of January 3, 2020.
27. ^ Australian Defense Force Reserves called in to assist with bushfires. In: 7news.com.au from January 4, 2020.
28. ↑ ^{a b} Defense boosts bushfire support. In: Department of Defense of January 4, 2020.
    Andrew McLaughlin: ADF mobilises for Operation Bushfire Assist. In: adbr.com.au of January 7, 2020.
29. ↑ James Fyfe: Australia fires: More New Zealand firefighters on their way to help battle blazes. In: newshub.co.nz of November 15, 2019.
30. ^ Nick Bonyhady: 'Call for help': International response to Australian fires. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of December 6, 2019.
    US sends veteran firefighters to battle Australia wildfires. In: apnews.com from January 5, 2020.
31. ↑ Maham Abedi: A look at the Australian wildfires Canadian firefighters are helping to battle. In: globalnews.ca of December 23, 2019.
    Bill Gabbert: US and Canada send additional firefighters to Australia. In: wildfiretoday.com from January 1, 2020.
32. ↑ Singapore deploys two Chinook helicopters to help Aussie bush fire recovery efforts. In: The Straits Times, January 6, 2020.
33. ↑ Japan sends two Self-Defense Forces planes and personnel to help fight Australia fires. In: The Japan Times, January 15.
34. ↑ Muhammad Zulsyamini Sufian Suri: Malaysian firemen to leave for Australia to help fight bushfires. In: New Straits Times of January 13, 2020.
35. ^ Sarwat Nasir: UAE to send 200 volunteers to help fight Australian bushfires. In: Khaleej Times of January 9, 2020.
36. ↑ ES Ingvorsen: Australia brænder, men siger nej tak til danske brandmænd. In: Danmarks Radio of January 9, 2020.
37. ^ Nick Bonyhady: 'Call for help': International response to Australian fires. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of December 6, 2019.
38. ↑ Cine sunt pompierii români pregătiţi pentru lupta cu incendiile devastatoare din Australia. In: observator.tv of January 7th, 2020.
    Ministerul Afacerilor Interne răspunde apelului lansat la nivel european și are for pre pregătite pentru a fi trimise în Australia. In: mai.gov.ro from January 6, 2020.
39. ↑ Havva Kara Aydin: Turkey stands with Australia with bushfires raging. In: Anadolu Agency of January 7, 2020.
40. ↑ Ukraine offers Australia help to combat wildfires, ready to send 200 seasoned firefighters. In: UNIAN of January 7, 2020.
41. ↑ ^{a b c} Australia fires: Your questions about arson, travel and recovery. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 20, 2020.
42. ↑ Golf ball-sized hail, a town engulfed by a giant dust storm, two people struck by lightning - and that's just 24 hours in Australia. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 20, 2020.
43. ↑ ^{a b c d} Lisa Cox: 'Massive relief': torrential rain douses bushfires across parts of Australia. In The Guardian on February 7, 2020.
44. ↑ Andreas Frey: Why was Australia burning? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of March 22, 2020.
45. ^ Luke Henriques-Gomes: Sports matches and festivals canceled: the impact of Australia's bushfire smoke on its major events. In: The Guardian of January 7, 2020.
46. ↑ Apis Canberra International relocates to Bendigo. In: tennis.com.au from January 3, 2020.
47. ↑ ^{a b c} For the first time this season, all bushfires in NSW are now contained. In: Special Broadcasting Services of February 13, 2020.
48. ↑ ^{a b} Australia fires: Storms wreak damage but bushfires 'far from over'. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 20, 2020.
49. ↑ Latest Impact Assessments. In: Rural Fireservice on Twitter from January 27, 2020.
50. ↑ Property losses from recent NSW bush fires. In: rfs.nsw.gov.au of September 17, 2019.
    Update on Northern NSW bush fires. In: NSW Rural Fire Service of October 16, 2019.
51. ↑ Fire burning at Crestwood Drive, Port Macquarie. In: portnews.com.au of December 20, 2019.
52. ↑ Harriet Alexander, Nick Moir: 'The monster': a short history of Australia's biggest forest fire. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of December 20, 2019.
    Sarah Thomas: Homes believed lost in NSW 'mega blaze' as firefighters tackle 70-meter flames in windy conditions. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 16, 2019.
    Fire at Gospers Mountain extends to 500,000 hectares. In: movefm.com.au from December 28, 2019.
53. ↑ NSW bushfires surround Sydney but conditions ease for now. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of December 8, 2019.
    Daniel McGookin: NSW Bushfires: Firefighters work to subdue out-of-control bushfire near Lake Burragorang. In: The Daily Telegraph, December 10, 2019.
54. ↑ Daniel McGookin, Jessica McSweeney, Madeline Crittenden, Jake McCallum: Homes lost, fireys injured as bushfires rage across NSW. In: The Daily Telegraph of December 6, 2019.
    Nadine Morton: Inmates, staff evacuated from jail as bushfire threatens. In: Western Advocate of December 11, 2019.
    Nadine Morton: Buildings destroyed as Caves House precinct falls victim to spot fires. In: Lithgow Mercury of January 3, 2020.
55. ↑ Kevin Nguyen, Emma Elsworthy: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declares state of emergency, as thousands of flee South Coast ahead of horror fire weekend. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of January 2, 2020.
56. ↑ Bellinda Kontominas, Jamie McKinnell: NSW fire threat to worsen as erratic winds bear down on several areas. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 11, 2020.
57. ↑ Dunns Road bushfire near Mount Kosciuszko National Park burns more than 130,000 ha. In: The Canberra Times of January 2, 2020.
58. ↑ Sydney told to brace for huge fire losses. In: Special Broadcasting Service of December 11, 2019.
59. ↑ Kevin Nguyen, James Bullen: Sydney smoke three times worse this NSW bushfire season, but health effects from 'medium-term' exposure unclear. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 3, 2019.
60. ↑ Riley Stuart: Sydney smoke from fires and dust is here to stay, authorities warn. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 22, 2019.
    Lisa Cox, Christine Tondorf: NSW and Queensland fires: Sydney to face catastrophic fire danger for first time . In: The Guardian of November 10, 2019.
61. ↑ Paige Cockburn: Sydney smoke at its 'worst ever' with air pollution in some areas 12 times 'hazardous' threshold. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of December 11, 2019.
62. ^ Graham Redfearn: Scientists fear surge in supersized bushfires that create their own violent thunderstorms. In: The Guardian of December 19, 2019.
63. ↑ Multiple bushfires at emergency warning level, as NSW Premier declares state of emergency. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of December 19, 2019.
64. ↑ Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks will go ahead despite deputy premier's call to cancel event. In: The Guardian of December 30, 2020.
65. ^ New South Wales state of emergency declared as 17 missing in Victoria - as it happened. In: The Guardian of January 2, 2020.
66. ↑ Niki Burnside, Victoria Pengilley: Bush Fire ravages main street of New South Wales town Cobargo. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 31, 2019.
67. ↑ ^{a b} Australia fires: Heavy rains hit some blaze-hit regions. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 18, 2020.
68. ↑ Kevin Nguyen, Matthew Doran: Three firefighters dead after Large Air Tanker crashes while fighting bushfires in southern NSW. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 23, 2020.
69. ↑ Status. NSW Rural Fire Service on Twitter January 27, 2020.
70. ^ Ashlea Witoslawski, Steven Trask, Matt Young: Heavy rain 'breaking back' of NSW fires, Currowan Fire 'officially extinguished'. In: news.com.au on February 9, 2020.
71. ↑ Alex Chapman: NSW weather: Shoalhaven bushfire put out by downpour after almost three months of burning. In: 7news from February 9, 2020.
72. ↑ Paige Cockburn: Sydney wet weather extinguishes Gospers Mountain 'mega-blaze', flooding clean-up continues across NSW. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of February 10, 2020.
73. ↑ Rainfalls in Australia could put out the last fires by the weekend. In: The Standard of February 11, 2020.
74. ↑ Rain deluge in eastern Australia set to extinguish NSW bushfires this week. In: The Guardian of February 10, 2020.
75. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Freya Noble: Government set to revise total number of hectares destroyed during bushfire season to 17 million. In: news.com.au of January 14, 2020.
76. ^ Ian Royall: Victorian fire threat escalates as nightmare conditions return. In: Herald Sun of January 10, 2020.
77. ↑ Victorian bushfires death toll rises as authorities confirm contractor's death was fire-related. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 15, 2020.
78. ↑ Sumeyya Ilanbey: Crews to be pulled from fire zones as heavy rains tipped to lash state. In: The Age of January 19, 2020.
79. ^ Fires threat rises in East Gippsland and Alpine communities with emergency evacuations. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of January 12, 2020.
80. ↑ Bushfires prompt Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to declare state of disaster as blazes bring 'unprecedented risk'. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of January 2, 2020.
81. ↑ Victorian storms to hit as fire on French Island continues to burn. In: 7news from January 19, 2020.
82. ↑ Christopher Brito: Australian bushfires are creating "pyrocumulonimbus" thunderstorms that can start more fires. In: CBS News of December 30, 2019.
    East Gippsland bushfire emergencies grow as extreme heat sweeps Victoria. In: The New Daily of December 30, 2019.
83. ↑ Australia fires: Navy rescues people from fire-hit Mallacoota. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 3, 2020.
84. ↑ Victoria fires LIVE updates: Two dead, grave fears for 28 missing as unprecedented fire danger looms. In: The Age of January 3, 2020.
85. ↑ Paul Sakkal: Smoke from NSW bushfires blankets Melbourne as city swelters. In: The Age of December 20, 2019.
    Tate Papworth, Liam Mannix: EPA warns that smoke over Melbourne will turn air quality 'hazardous'. In: The Age of January 3, 2020.
    Ross Stevenson, John Burns: Thick smoke haze set to linger across Melbourne until tomorrow evening. In: 3aw.com.au from January 14, 2020.
86. ↑ Lucy Mae Beers: Victoria thunderstorm: Rain, flash flooding hits state's northeast and Melbourne. In: 7news of January 19, 2020.
    Sarah Swain: Victoria braces for more wild weather, as bushfire continues to burn north of Melbourne. In: 9news from January 20, 2020.
87. ^ Yvette Gray, Will Jackson: BOM issues weather warning for heavy rain that may extinguish East Gippsland bushfires. In: Australia Broadcasting Corporation from February 10, 2020.
88. ↑ SA bushfires burn out of control during the day of catastrophic conditions and record heat. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 31, 2019.
89. ↑ Kangaroo Island → 65 houses
    Gabriel Polychronis, Jade Gailberger: Kangaroo Island bushfire likely to continue for weeks, with flare-ups every afternoon. In: The Advertiser of January 14, 2020.
    Adelaide Hills → 86 homes
    Adelaide Hills bushfire has destroyed 86 homes, SA Premier says. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of December 23, 2020.
90. ↑ ^{a b c} Australia bushfire latest: State-by-state breakdown of all areas affected by blazes. In: 7news.com.au from January 6, 2020.
91. ↑ SA bushfire did damaged 11 properties Caused by, power network fault '. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 21, 2020.
92. ↑ Emergency warning issued for uncontrolled bushfire traveling towards Port Lincoln. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 11, 2019.
93. ↑ Josephine Lim, Ben Harvy: Residents return to homes after Their monster bushfire in Edithburgh and Yorke. In: The Advertiser of November 22, 2019.
94. ↑ Cudlee Creek fire - December 2019. In: South Australian Government of 20 December of 2019.
95. ↑ Mitch Mott: Ravine fire burning on Kangaroo Island ‚virtually unstoppable 'as major towns only safe place left on island. In: The Advertiser of January 3, 2020.
96. ^ Sara Garcia: Kangaroo Island scorched with 'unprecedented' ferocity by bushfires as CFS saves township. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 10, 2020.
97. ↑ Ben Butler: Kangaroo Island fires: farmers shoot injured sheep after 'unfightable' bushfire ravages SA island. In: The Guardian of January 5, 2020.
    Kangaroo Island fire roars back as wind change intensifies threat to Parndana and Vivonne Bay. In: The Guardian of January 9, 2020.
98. ↑ Up to 100,000 sheep killed in Kangaroo Island fires, as farmers tally livestock losses. In: The Guardian of January 13, 2020.
99. ↑ KI bushfire smoke made Adelaide's air quality among the worst in the world. In: Adelaide Now, January 10, 2020.
100. ↑ NSW and Qld fires: residents urged to flee bushfire near Toowoomba amid warning of 'bad days' ahead. In: The Guardian of November 18, 2019.
101. ↑ ^{a b c} Victoria, NSW bushfires wreak havoc as death toll rises, several missing. In: news.com.au of January 1, 2020.
     The latest on the NSW and Victorian bushfires. In: news.com.au of January 3, 2020.
102. ↑ Peregian Beach bushfire under control on Queensland's Sunshine Coast after homes Evacuated. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation October 23, 2019.
103. ↑ David Chen: Queensland bushfires destroy four homes in Ravensbourne, Authorities say. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 21, 2019.
104. ↑ Ben Doherty: Australia fires: blazes 'too big to put out' as 140 bushfires rage in NSW and Queensland. In: The Guardian of December 8, 2019.
105. ↑ Authorities declare 'state of fire emergency' in parts of Queensland. In: Brisbane Times, November 9, 2019.
106. ↑ Stuart Layt: 'Unprecedented' smoke health hazard: Residents urged to stay indoors. In: Brisbane Times of November 11, 2019.
107. ↑ Newsroom. In: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services January 19, 2020.
108. ↑ Geraldton bushfire emergency as two blazes threaten lives and homes in WA port city. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 14, 2019.
109. ↑ Hamish Hastie: Petrol station razed in bushfire north of Perth as heatwave sets in. In: The Age of December 11, 2019.
110. ↑ Tyne Logan and John Dobson: Western Australia bushfires devastate the Stirling Ranges - one of the world's richest biodiversity hotspots. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 7, 2020.
111. ↑ Kathryn Bermingham: Families and truckies plead for more supplies after being cut off by WA bushfire at Caiguna. In: The West Australian of January 2, 2020.
112. ↑ DFES issues emergency warning for bushfire in Perth's south. In: WA Toay of January 28, 2020.
113. ^ Bushfire south of Perth in Mundijong downgraded but smoke could linger for days. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 29, 2020.
114. ↑ Bushfire warning in Katanning downgraded to watch and act. In: Perth Now on February 7, 2020.
115. ↑ WA bushfires: State remains on alert as fires continue to burn. In: 7news from February 9, 2020.
116. ↑ Tasmania Now: Watch and act fire alerts for two blazes north of Hobart. In: Australian Broadcating Corporation of October 29, 2019.
     Erin Cooper: Tasmanian fires get reprieve from weather but residents are warned to remain 'on alert' this weekend. In: Australian Broadcating Corporation of November 2, 2019.
117. ↑ Tasmanian fire crews battling blazes prepare for, spike 'in weather conditions. In: Australian Broadcating Corporation of January 7, 2020.
118. ↑ Jasper Lindell: ACT stays on high alert as bushfires burn close to southern border. In: The Canberra Times, January 5, 2020.
119. ↑ Finbar O'Mallon, Eamonn Tiernan: Australia's 2019-20 bushfire season. In: The Canberra Times, Jan. 10.
120. ↑ Samantha Maiden: Woman dies after exposure to bushfire smoke smothering Canberra. In: The New Daily of January 2, 2020.
121. ↑ Australia fires: massive fire near Canberra airport prompts warning to residents. In: The Guardian of January 23, 2020.
     Update: Beard Fire hits 278 ha - too late to leave Beard, Oaks Estate, Harman, Crestwood. In: riotact! on January 23, 2020.
     Canberra fires merge into single emergency-level blaze as Beard residents urged to seek shelter. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 23, 2020.
122. ↑ Andrew Brown: Smoke haze from bushfires returns to Canberra. In: The Canberra Times of January 27, 2020.
123. ↑ Canberra fires: capital of Australia faces out-of-control bushfire - as it happened. In: The Guardian of January 29, 2020.
124. ↑ Ben Doherty, Else Kennedy: Canberra faces bushfires threat from out-of-control blaze started by military helicopter. In: The Guardian of January 28, 2020.
125. ^ Tom Lowrey: Bushfires royal commission needs to examine how to cut carbon emissions, the ACT Government says. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of February 12, 2020.
126. ↑ Leonie Wood: Fact check: Have more than a billion animals perished nationwide this bushfire season? Here are the facts. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of February 4, 2020.
127. ↑ More than one billion animals killed in Australian bushfires. In: University of Sydney, January 8, 2020.
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128. ↑ ^{a b} The prehistoric trees survived the dinosaurs - and also the great fire . In: Die Welt from January 16, 2020.
129. ^ Hundreds of thousands of fish dead in NSW as bushfire ash washed into river. In: The Guardian of January 17, 2020.
130. ↑ Lisa Cox: 'Unprecedented' globally: more than 20% of Australia's forests burnt in bushfires. In: The Guardian of February 25, 2020.
131. ↑ Australia - Bush fires have killed or displaced three billion animals. In: Deutschlandfunk from July 29, 2020.
132. ↑ , Silent death ': Australia's bushfires push countless species to extinction. In: The Guardian of January 4, 2020.
133. ↑ Revealed: Widespread species devastation following 'unprecedented' fires . In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 18, 2020.
134. ↑ ^{a b c} Bushfires in Australia - Causes and Effects. In: Bayerischer Rundfunk from January 16, 2020.
135. ↑ Why it could take a century for Australia's animals to recover from the bushfires. In: The Guardian of January 22, 2020.
136. ^ ^{A b} Fires Australia: Bushfire crisis could cost country $ 5b, harm economic growth. In: 9news of January 13, 2020.
137. ↑ Anja Krüger: Material fire damage in Australia. Fear of the firestorm. In: The daily newspaper of January 7, 2020.
138. ↑ Jessica Irvine: Economic cost of bushfires estimated at $ 2 billion and rising. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 7, 2020.
139. ↑ Ben Butler: Economic impact of Australia's bushfires set to exceed $ 4.4bn cost of Black Saturday. In: The Guardian of January 8, 2020.
140. ↑ With costs approaching $ 100 billion, the fires are Australia's costliest natural disaster. In: The Conversation of January 17, 2020.
141. ↑ Joachim Wille: Australia: Think tank wants coal and natural gas industry to participate in the reconstruction. In: Frankfurter Rundschau from January 9, 2020.
142. ^ Matthew Cranston: Bushfires unlikely to hit economic growth: JPMorgan. In: The Australian Financial Review of January 6, 2020.
143. ^ Nick Rodway: 'We are a ghost town': Counting the cost of Australia's bushfires. In: Al Jazeera of January 27, 2020.
144. ↑ Jared Mondschein, Elliott Brennan: To overcome bushfires and floods, Australian agriculture needs to innovate and collaborate. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of February 26, 2020.
145. ↑ Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 31, 2020.
146. ↑ ^{a b} Bushfire recovery package to tackle Australian tourism's 'biggest challenge in living memory'. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 19, 2020.
147. ^ ^{A b} Robert Penfold: 'The whole country didn't burn': Tourism Australia looks to reverse drop in visitor numbers. In: 9news of January 29, 2020.
148. ↑ Visit Australia in 2020 - They're Open for Business. In: Tourism Australia of January 2020.
149. ^ National Tourism Account. Key Indicators for 2018-19. In: Tourism research, Austrade , undated , accessed January 27, 2020.
150. ^ Australia: GDP share of agriculture. In: theglobaleconomy.com, undated, accessed January 28, 2020.
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151. ↑ Michelle Cunningham, Luke Van Uffelen, Mark Chambers: The Changing Global Market for Australian Coal. In: Australian Central Bank of September 19, 2019.
     Coal is Australia's most valuable export in 2018. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of December 21, 2019.
152. ^ The Recent Increase in Iron Ore Prices and Implications for the Australian Economy. In: Australian Central Bank as of August 2019.
     Western Australia. Iron Ore profiles. February 2019. In: WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation from February 2019.
153. ↑ Denise Chow: Australia wildfires unleash millions of tons of carbon dioxide. In: NBC News of January 22, 2020.
     Akshat Rathi, Laura Millan Lombrana: Australia's Fires Likely Emitted as Much Carbon as All Planes. In: Bloomberg News of January 21, 2020.
154. ↑ Australia's bushfires to push global emissions to new high: Met Office. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 24, 2020.
155. ↑ Jenessa Duncombe: Five Environmental Consequences of Australia's Fires. In: Earth & Space Science News from January 13, 2020, doi: 10.1029 / 2020EO138596
156. ↑ Megan Gorrey: 'Ominous': Australia's bushfire smoke turns New Zealand skies orange. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 6, 2020.
     Joel MacManus: Blood red sun greets NZ on New Years Day as Australian bushfire smoke stains skies. In: stuff.co.nz from January 1, 2020.
157. ^ Smoke from Australia fires reaches South America. In: Deutsche Welle from January 7, 2020.
158. ↑ EleanorAingeRoy: New Zealand glaciers turn brown from Australian bushfires' smoke, ash and dust. In: The Guardian of January 2, 2020.
159. ↑ Fires in Australia: Smoke from the fire envelops Sydney's opera. In: Frankfurter Rundschau from January 23, 2020.
160. ↑ Fires in Australia: Smoke reaches Chile. In: WetterOnline from January 8, 2020.
161. ↑ Australian bushfire smoke still visible around the globe. In: 1News (New Zealand) of April 23, 2020.
162. ↑ Bushfire smoke will circle around the globe and return to Australia, NASA says. In: Special Broadcasting Service from January 15, 2020.
     Alex Lubben: Way Around the Planet. In: vice.com from January 14, 2020.
163. ↑ Melbourne's air quality 'worst in the world' as bushfires continue to burn across Victoria. In: The Guardian of January 14, 2020.
164. ↑ Sydney air quality hazardous as the city is shrouded in smoke and mist. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 8, 2020.
165. ↑ Australia bushfires: Pollution concerns for tennis tournament. In: British Broadcasting Corporation January 17, 2020.
166. ↑ Call for real-time air quality reporting as smoke continues to blanket Australia. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 8, 2020.
167. ↑ The lungs full of smoke . In: The time of January 6, 2020.
168. ↑ Brett McDermott: Mental health and personal safety in the face of the bushfire crisis. In: Beyond Blue from January 2020.
169. ↑ Charred legacy In: DLF Aus Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften 7/30/2020 (audio).
170. ↑ Apocalyptic wildfire in Australia - threat to Aboriginal rock art? Archeology (January 12th, 2020).
171. ↑ ^{a b} Australia is experiencing the hottest day in history. In: Spiegel Online from December 18, 2019.
172. ^ Fact checking Scott Morrisons' General Assembly Speech. In: climatecouncil.org.au from 2017.
173. ^ Scott Morrison should have gone to hear Greta Thunberg. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of September 26, 2019.
174. ↑ K. Hennessy, B. Fitzharris, BC Bates, N. Harvey, SM Howden, L. Hughes, J. Salinger, R. Warrick: Australia and New Zealand. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ML Parry, OF Canziani, JP Palutikof, PJ van der Linden, CE Hanson (eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, United Kingdom, p 509.
175. ↑ Australia fires: PM rejects 'reckless' calls to limit coal industry. In: British Broadcasting Corporation, December 23, 2019.
176. ↑ Australia's Prime Minister rejects stricter climate targets. In: Spiegel Online from December 23, 2019.
177. ↑ ^{a b c} Christoph Hein: Australia's politics and the "people from overseas". In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of December 23, 2019.
178. ↑ Urs Wolderlin: The great denial in Australia. In: The Standard of January 12, 2020.
179. ^ Sarah Martin: Australia ranked worst of 57 countries on climate change policy. In: The Guardian of December 11, 2019.
180. ^ Former fire chiefs 'tried to warn Scott Morrison' to bring in more water-bombers ahead of horror bushfire season. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 15, 2019.
181. ↑ ^{a b} Naaman Zhou: Malcolm Turnbull criticizes Scott Morrison for 'downplaying' bushfire crisis. In: The Guardian of January 23, 2020.
182. ↑ Rosemay Bolger: From ScoMo's photoshopped shoes to Egg Boy. This was 2019 in Australian politics. In: Special Broadcasting Services of December 25, 2019.
183. ↑ Johannes Korge: Australian Prime Minister relativizes fire disaster. All because of the coal. In: Spiegel Online from January 2, 2020.
184. ↑ Bushfires in Australia: Firefighters die while extinguishing the fire. In: tagesschau.de from December 20, 2019.
185. ^ Scott Morrison arrives back in Australia after Hawaii trip amid bushfire crisis. In: 9News of December 21, 2019.
186. ↑ Examples are:
     Alicia Vrajlal: As Bushfires Rage On, Climate Protesters Ask Scott Morrison: 'Where The Bloody Hell Are You'. In: Huffpost of December 19, 2019.
     Where The Bloody Hell Is ScoMo? In: Sunrise, Seven Network of December 17, 2019.
     Arden Dier: ScoMo, Where the Bloody Hell Are You? In: newser.com from December 20, 2019.
     Tom McIlroy: "Where the bloody hell are you?": Lara Worthington slams PM's holiday. In: The Australian Financial Review of December 18, 2019.
187. ↑ Government wants to compensate fire fighters. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung of December 29, 2019.
188. ^ Jade Macmillan: Scott Morrison announces compensation payments for New South Wales volunteer firefighters. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of December 29, 2019.
189. ↑ Bushfire recovery agency established as Scott Morrison brushes off criticism. In: Special Broadcasting Service of January 5, 2020.
     Alexandra Beech, Stephanie Dalzell, Jack Snape: Bushfire recovery costs start at $ 2 billion but Government assistance can't pay the bills. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 6, 2020.
190. ^ ^{A b} Will Ziebell: Australian Prime Minister Morrison defends bushfire crisis response. In: Reuters of January 5, 2020.
191. ↑ NSW, VIC fires: Kevin Rudd says Scott Morrison is unfit to be PM after Liberal party bushfire ad. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 5, 2020.
     Katharine Murphy: Scott Morrison's political ad is a bizarre act of self-love as firefighters battle to save Australia. In: The Guardian of January 4, 2020.
192. ↑ ^{a b} Scott Morrison slammed after tweeting 50-second ad spruiking new bushfire measures. In: news.com.au of January 5, 2020.
193. ↑ Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been met with hostility and criticism while visiting bushfire victims. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 3, 2020.
194. ↑ Scott Morrison heckled after he tries to shake hands with bushfire victim in NSW town of Cobargo. In: The Guardian of January 2, 2020.
195. ↑ Stephanie Dalzell: Craig Kelly and Piers Morgan in tense Good Morning Britain exchange over bushfires and climate change. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 7, 2020.
196. ↑ ^{a b} Scott Morrison rejects criticism of climate policies as MPs call for more action. In: The Guardian of January 10, 2020.
197. ↑ Prime Minister Scott Morrison argues for 'comprehensive' inquiry into bushfire crisis. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 10, 2020.
198. ^ Scott Morrison talks of going 'even further' on emissions in response to fires. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 12, 2020.
199. ↑ Scott Morrison suffers blow to personal approval rating in the first poll of 2020. In: The Guardian of January 13, 2020.
200. ↑ Stephanie Dalzell: Royal commission into bushfire crisis to examine climate change, harmonized approach to hazard reduction. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of February 6, 2020.
201. ↑ Tom Stayner: Bushfire survivors create 'trail of destruction' at parliament, demanding politicians cut ties with coal. In: Special Broadcasting Services of February 12, 2020.
     Finbar O'Mallon: Bushfire protesters descend on parliament. In: The Canberra Times, February 11, 2020.
     Marc Tewksbury: Demonstrators call on government to cut ties with 'destructive' Minerals Council of Australia. In: MSN from February 12, 2020.
202. ^ Amy Remeikis: Australia's bushfire politics: the parties prevaricate while the country burns. In: The Guardian of November 17, 2019.
203. ↑ Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is trying to convince voters in regional Queensland that Labor supports coal mining and exports. In: Special Broadcasting Service of December 9, 2019.
204. ^ ^{A b} 'Lazy symbolism': Labor fights back at Greens on coal exports. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of December 9, 2020.
205. ↑ Urs Wolderlin: Siemens could slow down coal project in Australia. In: The Standard of January 12, 2020.
206. ^ Anthony Albanese: We can't bury our heads in the sand over climate change. In: 2GB of January 7, 2020.
207. ↑ Latika Bourke: 'Greens betrayers of the environment': Labor, Greens at war over climate policy. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 3, 2020.
208. ↑ ^{a b} Adam Bandt defends 'arsonists' comment by Green's colleague Jordon Steele-John. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of November 17, 2019.
209. ^ 'They've been fed lies': Greens leader fiercely defends bushfire prevention policies. In: 3aw.com.au from January 6, 2020.
210. ↑ Hanson Blames Greens, Labor for bushfire crisis. In: Skynews of November 14, 2019.
211. ^ Stephan Johnson: Pauline Hanson slams Scott Morrison over his 'pathetic' response to the bushfire crisis - and says he's lost confidence from Australia. In: Daily Mail of January 8, 2020.
212. ↑ Pauline Hanson angrily rejects climate-bushfires link on Today . In: Dailytoday of January 13, 2010
213. ↑ ^{a b} Zoe Samios, Andrew Hornery: , Dangerous, misinformation ': News Corp. employee's fire coverage email. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 10, 2020.
214. ↑ Joachim Müller-Jung: The fire roller is rolling. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from January 20, 2020.
     “Arsonists” to blame for Australia's fires: climate change deniers flood social media. In: The Standard of January 9, 2020.
     Absurd Theories About Fires in Australia. In: Österreichischer Rundfunk from January 12, 2020.
     Fire Australia. Fake news and new NASA videos. In: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk from January 15, 2020.
     Monster fires unite. In: Deutsche Welle from January 10, 2020.
215. ↑ ^{a b} Andrew Forrest says fuel loads, not climate change, are the primary cause of bushfires. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 23, 2020.
216. ↑ ^{a b} Christopher Knaus: Disinformation and lies are spreading faster than Australia's bushfires. In: The Guardian of January 12, 2020.
217. ↑ Graham Readfearn: Factcheck: Is there really a green conspiracy to stop bushfire hazard reduction? In: The Guardian of November 12, 2019.
218. ↑ Explainer: back burning and fuel reduction. In: The Conversation of August 8, 2014.
219. ^ Bushfires, Hazard Reduction and Backburning. In: Australian Greens , undated, accessed January 25, 2020.
220. ↑ These crude conspiracy theories are being spread through the fires in Australia. In: stern from January 9, 2020.
221. ↑ Fact check: Social Media Claim - Bushfire fast train conspiracy claims run off the rails. In: Australian Associated Press January 6, 2020.
222. ↑ Absurd Theories on Fires in Australia. In: Österreichischer Rundfunk from January 12, 2020.
223. ^ Wulf Rohwedder: Bush fires in Australia. Greens, arsonists and green arsonists? In: tagesschau.de from January 10, 2020.
224. ↑ Bots and trolls fuel debate . In: Badische Zeitung from January 15, 2020.
225. ↑ Georgina Rannard: Australia fires: Misleading maps and pictures go viral. In: British Broadcasting Corporation, January 7, 2020.
     Nick Whigham: The truth behind this viral image of the Australian bushfires. In: Yahoo of January 7, 2020
226. ↑ ^{a b} Lena Bodewein: Australian Murdoch Media. An unholy alliance In: Tagesschau from January 17, 2020.
227. ↑ Katja Trippel: A lot of coal and scorched earth . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 4, 2020.
228. ↑ Damien Cave: How Rupert Murdoch Is Influencing Australia's Bushfire Debate. In: The New York Times, January 8, 2020.
229. ^ With Rupert Murdoch there is no climate catastrophe . In: Tagesspiegel from January 7, 2020.
230. ^ Rupert Murdoch's son James criticises News Corp, Fox for climate change and bushfire coverage. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 15, 2020.
231. ↑ ^{a b} Debbie Cuthbertson, Jessica Irvine: Bushfire donations near $ 500 million as watchdogs put charities on notice. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 19, 2020.
232. ↑ ^{a b c} Rachel Clayton: More than 400 bushfire fundraiser scams reported as well-wishers dig deep for fire relief. In Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 16, 2020.
233. ↑ Jack Derwin: $ 500 million has been donated for bushfire relief, but only a fraction has reached victims. Here's why. In: Business Insider of January 24, 2020.
234. ^ Paul Johnson: How Australians can protect themselves from bushfire appeal scammers. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of January 7, 2020.
     Emily Olle: Australia bushfire donations: Generous Aussies warned of increase in scammers. In: 7news from January 6, 2020.
235. ↑ Malcolm Turnbull : Australia's Bushfires Show the Wicked, Self-Destructive Idiocy of Climate Denialism Must Stop. In: Time from January 15, 2020.
236. ^ Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation foreign editor says listeners were angry at the airing of 'extremist views'. In: The Guardian of January 3, 2020.
237. ↑ Julia Gillard: In this time of bushfire tragedy and grief, our thanks go to so many heroes, most particularly the firefighters and the families who support them. In: Twitter from January 12, 2020.
238. ^ Beyond Blue welcomes Commonwealth funding for bushfire-affected early learning services and schools. In: Beyond Blue of January 17, 2020.
239. ↑ Kevin Rudd : The government response to the bushfire crisis has been evasive, tepid, tone-deaf and above all, too late. In: The Guardian of January 6, 2020.
240. ↑ Chris Barret: John Howard praises Scott Morrison but urges him to work with states. In: The Sydney Morning Herald of January 5, 2020.
241. ^ Morrison 'a fossil with a baseball cap': Paul Keating holds court at Labor conference. In: The Guardian of May 6, 2019.
242. ↑ Bob Hawke , Paul Keating : Scott Morrison is flying in the face of history with his fallacious claim. In: The Sydney Mornik Herald of May 8, 2019.
243. ↑ David Speers: Scott Morrison's fires response has put his political judgment in question. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation of December 5, 2020.
244. ↑ ^{a b} Firemen sharply criticize Australian Prime Minister Morrison. In: Spiegel Online from January 5, 2020.
245. ^ ^{A b} Alan Weedon: Scott Morrison criticized for running 'absolutely obscene' political ads during bushfires. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 5, 2020.
246. ↑ There is no strong, resilient Australia without deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. An open letter on the scientific basis for the links between climate change and bushfires in Australia. In: australianbushfiresandclimatechange.com from February 4, 2020.
247. ^ Paul Karp: Julie Bishop: Coalition should lead world on climate despite 'missteps' on bushfires. In: The Guardian of February 6, 2020.
248. ^ Paul Karp: Coalition's axing of funding to climate change adaptation body condemned. In: The Guardian of January 15, 2020.
249. ↑ Patrick Wood: Australia can have zero emissions and still profit from minerals, says Ross Garnaut. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 13, 2020.
250. ^ Put Levy on Fossil Fuel Producers to Pay for Climate Disasters: Australia Institute. In: The Australia Institute of December 18, 2019.
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251. ↑ Frank Jotzo: The bushfire crisis has given the government a political, Out 'to its climate change a problem. In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation January 6, 2020.
252. ^ Richard Flanagan : Australia Is Committing Climate Suicide. In: The New York Times, January 3, 2020.
253. ^ Australia Will Lose to Climate Change. In: The Atlantic of January 4, 2020.
254. ^ Bernhard Pötter: Fire catastrophe in Australia. World record in forest fire. In: The daily newspaper from February 25, 2020.
255. ↑ Siemens holds on to contract for coal mine in Australia. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of January 12, 2020.
256. ^ Coal deal in Australia: Fridays for Future criticizes Siemens. In: Bayerischer Rundfunk from January 8, 2020.
     Luisa Neubauer, Nick Heubeck: Australia is burning. Siemens has to come to its senses. In: Die Welt from January 7, 2020.
257. ↑ Siemens holds fast to deliveries to coal mine in Australia - environmentalists react indignantly. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from January 13, 2020.
258. ^ First German politicians demand TV-off for jungle camp. In: Rheinische Post from January 7, 2020.

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