About impact of climate change

1. Australian wildfires

2. OVERVIEW
• The end of 2019 and start of 2020 found South Eastern
Australia in the midst of its worst-ever bushfire season.
• Since early July 2019, fires burned through an estimated
110,000 square kilometers.
• The fires killed at least 34 people and destroyed about
6,000 buildings, taken the homes of thousands of
families, and left millions of people affected by a
hazardous smoke haze.
• More than a billion native animals have been killed, and
some species and ecosystems may never recover.
• The bushfires are having an economic impact (including
millions in insurance claims), as well an immediate and
long term health impact to the people exposed to smoke
and dealing with the psychological impacts of the fires.
Figure. Modis active fire data (Collection 6, near real time and standard
products) showing the severity of bushfires from 1 July 2019 to 10 January 2020
with the most severe fires being depicted in red. The image also shows the
forested areas of Eastern Australia in blue. The polygon shows the area
analysed in this article.

3. CLIMATE CHANGE: CONCERNS
The climate simulations show that the probability of a high Fire Weather Index during the 2019–2020
season increased by at least 30 percent, relative to the fire risk in 1910. That is primarily due to the
increase in extreme heat.
• Heat and drought: Since 1910, Australia's climate has warmed by more than 1 degree Celsius. In
fact, without action, Australia is expected to warm as much as 5 degrees Celsius by 2090. In 2018,
Australia battled “its worst drought in living memory.” And climate models indicate that, as rain
patterns continue to change and heat continues to rise, southern Australia in particular will spend
more and more time in drought going forward – unless we act.
• Bushfires / wildfires: Australia is becoming hotter and drier due to climate change – making the
perfect conditions for bushfire. plants dry up and die, the ideal kindling to fuel a fire. Residents also
endure extreme heat waves during these times.
• Agriculture and livestock: Farmers depend on a steady climate to grow food and raise livestock.
the climate crisis makes it increasingly difficult for farmers to grow food for Australia. As Australia’s
climate changes, every type of farmer will be affected – from those who raise dairy cows to fruits and
vegetable producers to wine growers and everything in between. according to Melbourne
sustainability society institute’s report, appetite for change: global warming impacts on food and
farming regions in Australia:

5. IMPACTS ON HUMANS AND SETTLEMENTS
• VULNERABILITY TO OTHER WEATHER EXTREMES: without the trees and vegetation lost to fires,
homes, businesses, and other infrastructure – and the people who live and work in them – are left much
more vulnerable to major flooding and mudslides and other hazards. In the aftermath of flooding and
attendant mudslides comes still, stagnant water, which can increase the likelihood of water-borne illnesses
such as wound infections, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, and ear, nose and throat infections.
• ECONOMIC COSTS: The price tag to the Australian economy is still being analysed, but it’s clear that
infrastructure has been damaged and that impacts extend to industries such as farming and tourism. Some
businesses and institutions have been forced to close their doors during periods of excessive levels of air
pollution.
• AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS: The bushfires have scorched pasture, destroyed livestock and razed
vineyards, with regrowth and recovery likely to stretch water resources already challenged by drought.
Reports indicate that the country’s dairy supply will likely be hit hardest, with Victoria and New South
Wales—Australia’s key milk-producing states—suffering the greatest loss of farmland and infrastructure
damage. Meat, wool, and honey output may also be impacted. About 13 per cent of the national sheep
flock is in regions that have been significantly impacted and a further 17 per cent in regions partially
impacted, according to Meat & Livestock Australia.

6. • RESPIRATORY AND CARDIAC PROBLEMS: Burning pollutes our air directly with irritants like particulate
matter and soot. Then, as the greenhouse gases they release accumulate in the atmosphere and average
temperatures rise, we’re seeing higher levels of ground-level ozone that can cause acute and long-term
respiratory problems. Pregnant women and children including teenagers face a higher risk of developing
asthma and other diseases.
• ONGOING ECOLOGICAL AND BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS: The area is losing wildlife at an ever-increasing
scale across the planet, with impacts to ecosystems vital for global food production. The world’s terrestrial
biodiversity is concentrated in forests: they are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of
animals, plants and insects. So, when forests burn, the biodiversity on which humans depend for their
long-term survival also disappears in the inferno. With over 1 million species currently facing extinction if we
continue with business as usual, extreme weather events such “megafires” become an increasing matter of
concern for species survival.
• MENTAL HEALTH COSTS: Fires do not only cause physical harm; many people experience mental trauma
from the experience of emergency evacuation and losing homes, pets, belongings, livestock or other sources
of livelihoods. Some communities found themselves unable to evacuate quickly when lost electricity meant fuel
stations weren’t operational or blocked roads kept people trapped in high risk areas. Some were forced to seek
safety on beaches and on boats, sheltering children overnight while witnessing unprecedented firestorms.
Such experiences can have lasting mental health impacts across affected communities.
IMPACTS ON HUMANS AND SETTLEMENTS

7. Sheep make their way in the fire grounds near Bega, News South
Wales, Australia January 8, 2020.
Photo by: REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidi
Infastructure damage during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire
season. Picture by Mark J Toomey, Pixabay.

8. Thick plumes of smoke rise from bushfires at the coast of
East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia January 4, 2020 in this
aerial picture taken from AMSA Challenger jet. Photo by
Australian Maritime Safety Authority/Handout via REUTERS
A man sits on a bench as caravans and tents of evacuees are parked
at a showground that was turned into an unofficial evacuation centre,
in the town of Cobargo, Australia, January 12, 2020. Photo by:
REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

9. RELEVANCE IN PLANNING
Wild fires can be managed effectively through planning measures, these include:
• Monitoring: Monitoring fires help in identifying areas prone to fire and its features and plan accordingly for
the future. It also help to give warnings.
• Land management: Impatient land management strategies through which the risk of wildfires can be
reduced. This includes mapping of fires and predictions. Land use planning that is in line with the fire hazard
areas so that there is least risk to life and property. Providing features like fire breaks in the areas prone to
bushfires are important method to control spread of fire.
• Building Management: Buildings guidelines that insures fire resistant construction methods and materials
and provision of schemes that people follow theses guidelines will help is fire protection.
• Warning systems: Warning systems play an important role in saving lives during the spread of fire. Proper
planning can help in developing a better warning system.

10. WILDFIRE PREVENTION IN AUSTRALIA
Bushfire Prevention Strategies
The raw materials for any potential bushfire are the presence of fuel such as grass, leaves and twigs, oxygen
from the surrounding air, and heat or direct flame. Australia’s approach to bushfire prevention centres on
lessening the possibility of a fire occurring and minimizing the spread of bushfires. Fire prevention strategies fall
into the following four main categories:
Land Management :Land management strategies are effective in:
• lessening the presence of fuels in forests or grass land area;
• slowing down and sometimes ceasing the spread of bushfires; and
• providing easier access routes for firefighters to reach and extinguish fires.
Fuel reduction is paramount to bushfire minimisation. By taking away the fuel, fires cannot start, nor can they
continue to spread. One of Australia’s strategies to reduce the build-up of fuels in forest and grassland areas
involves the deliberate burning off of these fuels by various fire and land management agencies.
Building Management: The findings showed that the sparks and embers emitted from the fires are what cause
houses to catch fire. As such, building guidelines and standards are now being developed that are specifically
aimed at making buildings more resistant to these fire emissions. In some communities, local government
authorities have regulations controlling home siting, design and the use of building materials in bushfire prone
areas. These controls serve not only to minimise the damage to homesites and reduce losses from fires, they
also assist in the prevention and spread of bushfires.

11. WILDFIRE PREVENTION IN AUSTRALIA
Community Education: People and their actions (whether deliberate or not) are responsible for many of the
bushfires that occur in Australia. Some of the more common causes of bushfires in Australia have resulted
from deliberate burning-off that gets out of control and fires escaping from burning rubbish heaps. However it
can also take only a single spark from machinery such as welding equipment, a campfire or outdoor cooking
facility not properly extinguished or children playing with matches for a fire to begin.
With such a high bushfire incident rate resulting from the actions of people, community education in Australia
is particularly important. Education takes on a number of forms and is generally designed to provide people
with a better understanding of the risks they face from bushfires and the measures the community can take to
minimise these risks.
A range of information brochures are made available to the general public which cover such issues as what
measures people (particularly those living in bushfire prevalent areas) can take to minimise the spread of a
bushfire and the protection of their property and lives before and during a bushfire.
Fire Danger Warnings: For the general public, television and radio broadcasts are an especially effective
means of educating people regarding their responsibilities in relation to fire prevention. These fire prevention
and safety campaigns are generally broadcast right throughout the year, however they increase in intensity
particularly in the lead up and right through the summer months. Australia also has a fire danger rating
system which forecasts the potential for a forest or grassland fire and is based on seasonal drought, recent
rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and the amount of fuel on the ground.

12. REFRENCES
1. https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-change-affecting-australia
2. Planning to Reduce Risk: The Wildfire Management Overlay in Victoria, Australia
3. Wildfire prevention in Australia, Emergency Management Australia
4. https://www.climaterealityproject.org
5. https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/climate-change-and-health-wildfires
6. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/what-we-do/landscape-management/fire
7. https://www.ready.gov/
8. Fire management plan, ABM resources