The fire season starts in earnest....

It's been 36 degrees in Sydney today, and even now at 8pm it's still 32 degrees. I ran home from work at 6pm, and even though it was overcast with a storm threatening, it was sweltering. South east Australia is undergoing a serious heat wave; temperatures in South Australia have been at record levels for the time of year, and in Melbourne this week the temperature was 30 degrees before the sun rose.


Whilst I can almost hear the groans of those in the UK which I know has some pretty grotty weather at the moment, spare a thought for those inland here. It's been consistently over 40 degrees in many areas, and there are major fires across three states. NSW has introduced a new top fire warning level - "Catastrophic fire warning" - it's hard to see how it can get any adjectivally worse than that. The new level comes in before there is even a sign of fire - when temperatures are regularly over 40 degrees for several days and the wind picks up, people are told to abandon their homes. following the terrifying speed and total devastation of the Victorian fires last year, one can understand the need to take those precautions. We're only in November, so things are clearly going to get much worse. 


Having spoken to a few people from the country it is interesting to get their perspective of the fire danger. Fire is in fact a natural and important part of the ecology of the country - Aborigines deliberately burn sections each year to prevent a single, wholescale fire wiping out a region, and to create more fertile soil; indeed these methods are used in many areas to prevent out of control fires in inhabited areas. Unfortunately it's a natural part of life in the bush - along with drought. Whilst not denying the impact of climate change, it's a bit lazy to blame the bush fires simply on that - it is an ancient and natural phenomena on the continent, which is far more of a problem for European settlers with their permanent habitations, crops and livestock, than it was for the nomadic Aboriginal tribes. One thing that is certain is that there will be plenty more fires this year; especially given the prediction of a very hot and dry summer.