6
BAMOS
Mar 2020
News—Australia's Bushfires
Smoke and air quality
Australia’s bushfire smoke is lapping the globe, and the law
is too lame to catch it, The Conversation
"Smoke from Australia’s bushfires has travelled
far beyond its origins. It crossed New Zealand
and South America, and within days had drifted
halfway around the globe. NASA predicted the
smoke would complete a full circuit and arrive
back where it started."
Even for an air pollution historian like me, these past weeks
have been a shock, The Conversation
"It is not the first time Australia’s major cities
have been shrouded in bushfire smoke. But
the terrible air quality is unmatched in terms of
severity, duration and extent."
Smoke between Eden and Cooma. Source: Linden Ashcroft
Adaptation
Many of our plants and animals have adapted to fires, but
now the fires are changing, The Conversation
"...in recent decades the pattern of fires—also
known as the fire regime—is changing. Individual
fires are increasingly hotter, more frequent,
happening earlier in the season and covering
larger areas with a uniform intensity. And these
changes to the fire regime are occurring too
fast for our native flora and fauna to adapt and
survive."
Related impacts
The sweet relief of rain after bushfires threatens disaster for
our rivers, The Conversation
"When heavy rainfall eventually extinguishes the
flames ravaging south‑east Australia, another
ecological threat will arise. Sediment, ash and
debris washing into our waterways, particularly
in the Murray‑Darling Basin, may decimate
aquatic life.
Bushfire smoke over Bondi Beach in mid‑November 2019.
Source: Melissa Lyne
We’ve seen this before. Following 2003 bushfires
in Victoria’s alpine region, water filled with
sediment and debris (known as sediment slugs)
flowed into rivers and lakes, heavily reducing fish
populations. We’ll likely see it again after this
season’s bushfire emergency."
Nearly 80% of Australians affected in some way by the
bushfires, new survey shows, The Conversation
"About 14.4% of our respondents experienced
direct exposure to the fires, either through their
property damage or evacuations.
And 77.8% of our respondents reported indirect
exposure to the fires, such as having a friend
or family member with damaged or threatened
property, having travel or holiday plans disrupted,
being exposed to the physical effects of smoke
or feeling anxious or worried about the fires."
Smoke plumes billow in Canberra. Source: Miriam McMillan