Wildfires

Expanding Fire Season

A lengthening wildfire season brought on in many parts of the world by a warming climate claimed scores of homes in southeastern Australia.

An out-of-season brushfire quickly engulfed the New South Wales seaside town of Tathra. It and other blazes destroyed at least 90 homes.

Such wildfires have historically occurred in Australia between December and February. “Sadly, fires like this, well into autumn, are an increasing part of the southern Australian experience, as we move further towards climate disruption,” said Grant Wardell-Johnson of Curtin University’s biodiversity and climate department.

Fire seasons are now 19 percent longer on average worldwide than they were in the 1970s.