News—Australia's Bushfires
BAMOS
Mar 2020
7
Climate variability and change
Mallacoota: this is what climate change looks like, The Age
"The climate science of what’s happening this
summer involves many components. Cool
waters off the coast of Indonesia have meant
less moisture available for our weather patterns,
on top of the drought already strangling eastern
Australia. Unusually strong westerly winds
around Antarctica in the past month have
exacerbated this drying by shifting weather
patterns and bringing enhanced bushfire risk.
Climate change is also present, lurking in our
warmer temperatures, our drier winters and our
longer, hotter fire seasons."
It’s only October, so what’s with all these bushfires? New
research explains it, The Conversation
"Our research has made clear that climate modes
bring large and rapid swings to the fire weather,
while human‑induced climate change gradually
increases background fire weather conditions.
The trend generally means an earlier start to the
bushfire seasons than in the past."
One line poems bring together language and image. Read more in
the article on page 20. Source: MCCCRH
The bushfires are horrendous, but expect cyclones, floods
and heatwaves too, The Conversation
"Lives have undoubtedly been saved this summer
by improved forecasting of high temperatures
and better dissemination of heatwave
information by state and local governments.
But after an already devastating early summer
of fires and heat, warning fatigue may set in
amongst both warning providers and the public.
We must ensure heatwave warnings continue to
be disseminated to populations at risk, and are
acted on."
Some say we’ve seen bushfires worse than this before. But
they’re ignoring a few key facts, The Conversation
"...Australia has a long history of bushfires. But
several factors make eastern Australia’s recent
crisis different to infamous bushfires in the past.
First is the enormous geographic spread of
this season’s fires, and second, the absence
of El Niño conditions typically associated with
previous severe fires.
Thirdly and most important, these fires were
preceded by the hottest and driest conditions in
Australian history."
Weather bureau says hottest, driest year on record led to
extreme bushfire season, The Conversation
"...2019 was the nation’s warmest and driest year
on record. It’s the first time since overlapping
records began that Australia experienced both
its lowest rainfall and highest temperatures in
the same year."
Bekta Beach, Mallacoota, Victoria on 17 February 2020.
Source: Judy Ashcroft
In case you missed it
Climate Council issues briefing paper: ‘This is Not Normal’:
Climate change and escalating bushfire risk
Bureau issues Special Climate Statement 72: 'Dangerous
bushfire weather in spring 2019'
Send in your news items for the next issue of
BAMOS and share snippets about the latest events
and announcements with the AMOS community.
Email [email protected].