Australian capital Canberra airport was closed on Thursday after emergency services issued an alert for a nearby bush fire, local press reports said.
Australian firefighters are on the alert as a rise in temperatures accompanied by strong winds risks reigniting bush fires during the day.
Several rainy days had given respite to firefighters on the front of the fires that hit the country since September. On Thursday temperatures will rise to 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Australia, including Sydney, with winds of 90 km / h in places.
All flights to and from Canberra were suspended at midday. The airport said it wanted to facilitate the work of the air firefighters. The fire started on Wednesday, but Thursday’s high winds and high temperatures made the situation worse. Residents of the region were invited to take shelter.
In the state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, five fires are at an alert level on Thursday. Authorities have declared a total ban on lighting fires across the territory. Warmer temperatures are expected to arrive from Friday, reducing the risk of conflagration. But authorities have warned that the forest fire season is far from over.
Further south, in the state of Victoria, it is the rain, paradoxically, which is the problem. The risk of fire is temporarily reduced, but the daily life of the population is disrupted by thick showers of brown color. In particular, the Australian Open matches had to be suspended until 2 p.m. local time, with the organizers pointing to the dirt and dust covering the courts. Photos of cars covered with a brownish layer and orange streams go around social networks.
Since September, unprecedented forest and bush fires have killed at least 29 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Australia. Fires occur every year on the immense island-continent during the southern spring. But the fire season was particularly early and intense this time, due to an extended drought in Australia, which scientists say is directly linked to global warming.
A water bomber plane missing from radar screens
A water bomber plane mobilized to fight the raging fires in Australia has crashed, causing the death of three people, Australian authorities announced on Thursday.
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