AUSTRALIA. A new heat peak is expected in the coming hours in Australia. Authorities are urging residents of some areas to leave their homes to seek shelter, as the fires will escalate, with new sources of fire.
The essential
- After hitting New South Wales particularly hard to the southeast of the country map, fires are likely to take their toll further south in the next few hours in Victoria (see map below). below, it is the state where the city of Melbourne is located). This region has already seen 5% of its area go up in smoke since the fires started in September.
- At the dawn of this new aggravation of the fires, more than 10 million hectares of vegetation have already burned since the fires started in Australia. At least 27 people died as a result of the fires, and tens of thousands of others have received a text message from the government in the past few hours urging them to leave their homes to seek shelter.
- After a short-lived lull thanks to the rain that has allowed the temperature to drop in recent days, we expect a further worsening of the situation in Australia from January 10. Temperatures will exceed 40 degrees again, strengthening the conditions for fire.
- The fires have already killed at least 1.25 billion dead animals, including 30% of the population of koalas in the south-east of the country, as well as many kangaroos and several endangered species. Australia also had to make the decision to kill 10,000 wild camels. According to the authorities, the thirsty dromedaries are getting dangerously close to the dwellings.
On this map generated from the NASA website, we can observe the evolution of fires since December 1, 2019, with a considerable increase in the number of fire hotspots in the southeast of the country, at the end of December.
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13:07 – 10,000 dromedaries to be slaughtered in Australia
Australian authorities have announced their decision to kill 10,000 wild camels. These are snipers who will perform this operation from helicopters. According to AFP sources, dromedaries constitute a danger for the population because, thirsty, they approach certain inhabited areas.
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12:51 – The state of Victoria in danger
Evacuation orders have been put in place on Kangaroo Island, which has already been ravaged by flames over more than a third of its surface. New South Wales, for its part, if it remains closely watched, is no longer the most endangered region of Australia. It is the state of Victoria, even further south of the map of Australia, which is currently concerned by the greatest fire risks: residents of the localities of Bennies, Cheshunt South, Markous, Rose River, Top Crossing, Wabonga, Upper Rose River, Buffalo River, Dandongadale, Merriang South, Mount Buffalo and Nug Nug have been ordered to vacate.
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12:36 – The long-term consequences in Australia (2/2)
Professor Dickman continues his demonstration, drawing in particular on a map where we can see the very limited extent of the territory of the long-footed potoroo, located northeast of the state of Victoria, southeast of Australia. A territory totally or almost totally devastated by fires, where the small population of this marsupial, an endangered species, lives. However, explains the professor, this animal has a major role in the restoration of vegetation and in its growth. The potoroos dig the earth to feed on mushrooms which have a major role in the fertilization of the grounds and the regeneration of the forests. The spores of these fungi are spread over larger areas thanks to the potoroos, through their excrement. According to Chris Dickman, “we clearly risk losing a significant proportion of biodiversity, and given that part of Australia’s biodiversity lives only here, it is a global loss”, which concerns the flora and fauna , long-term.
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12:24 – What consequences in Australia? (1/2)
Scientists at the Australian Academy of Sciences explain in this video how serious the fires in Australia are and will have terrible consequences in the long term. First, Chris Dickman, professor at the University of Sydney, recalls the number of animals dead in Australia due to fires: at least a billion people, counting only mammals, reptiles and birds. A disaster for Australian wildlife, unique in the world. Koalas are particularly affected by fires because, as the specialist explains, they move slowly and cannot escape fires like kangaroos for example (also dead in large numbers). The survival reflex of koalas consists in climbing at the top of the trees, which condemn them in large numbers.
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12:07 – New assessment: more than 10 million hectares burned
The Australian Guardian has provided new information on the extent of the damage caused by the fires. The death toll is now 27, and the media has said that the number of hectares gone up in smoke has further increased, exceeding ten million hectares, the equivalent of the area of Iceland or South Korea.
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11:53 – In Victoria, residents ordered to leave
The Australian Guardian reported the Prime Minister of the State of Victoria, Daniel Andrews: “If you are instructed to leave, you must leave. If you can get out of your house safely and if you text instructions to go out, so you have to do it. It’s the only way to keep you safe, “he said. The Australian media ended its direct thus: “Take care of yourself and show kindness towards each other” (“Take care and be kind to each other”).
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11:25 am – Map of fires in Australia
The fires in Australia started particularly early this year, and with record intensity. Prime Minister Scott Morrison himself has said that the fires could continue for months as they have been raging since September, when the country’s usual fire season is just beginning. AFP has drawn up a map of the most affected areas in New South Wales, in the Sydney region, where the fires were particularly virulent a few days ago. On this same image, we can also observe a map of the most affected regions in the state of Victoria, further south. It is this state that is likely to be particularly affected in the hours to come.
Particularly precocious and virulent, the fire season has already killed 26 people in #Australia, reduced to ashes an area equivalent to the island of Ireland and destroyed more than 2,000 houses #AFP pic.twitter.com/HDYfHfjXVG
– Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) January 9, 2020
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