We have seen perhaps unprecedented levels of wildfires in the Arctic this summer, there were wildfires in England even in February and not forgetting wildfires in California in the last few weeks.
Australia - 'catastrophic'!
But now we have wildfires in Australia that are being termed 'catastrophic', with fires said to be threatening Sydney itself potentially by Tuesday of this week. Temperatures are expected to reach 37°C by then, with strong winds fanning the flames, and this could well intensify what has already been one hell of a few months for New South Wales (NSW).
Hundred's of bush fires have been raging in the state for the last two months following a period of extended drought. Even some torrential rain storms last week (which had the poor, beleaguered farmers out celebrating for a while) were not enough to properly dampen the fires. There are now more than a hundred burning across NSW and Queensland, with at least three people dead so far, and thousands more displaced from their homes.
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| Fire rages in Bobin, north of Sydney, this weekend (photo: AFP) |
But what really broke the devastation and despair around this situation home to me, was when Fitzsimmons said that they "will save as many people as possible." Not even an appearance of pretending that all will be well at the end of the day! There are already around 1,300 firefighters working tirelessly to try and stem these fires, with the help of around 70 aircraft. But getting water to some of the remoter areas, and even just getting water (it has been an awful drought, don't forget), has been a tough challenge. Additional firefighters have come over from New Zealand to try and give local crews some respite, and Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has not ruled out sending in the military to help.
Scientists are firmly putting this series of events at the door of climate change, saying that the Australian bush fire season is only going to get increasingly longer and more intense, all because of climate change. 2018 and 2017 were the third and fourth hottest Australian years on record, respectively. Morrison has been getting some stick over Australia's poor governmental track record on combating climate change (he is a good buddy of Trump don't forget - with a shared love of the coal industry), but he has been deflecting this by saying now is not the time for politics.
He may not be able to use this excuse for long, as Australians start to adjust to these potentially ever worsening periods of fire, and it seems that the farmers of NSW may become unlikely climate change warriors.
South Yorkshire
At the same time as eastern (and some western parts) Australia fights the ravages of drought and all that brings, large parts of northern England, and especially South Yorkshire, are fighting the effects of intense rainfall.
The last week or so has seen some prolific amounts of rainfall, with a months worth of rain falling in a day in some places. As of Sunday evening, there are almost 50 flood warning in place across England! Seven of these are listed as Severe (that is that they pose a threat to life) on the River Don alone, and the Environment Agency (EA) has posted a further 40 Warnings (flooding is expected) and 93 Alerts elsewhere.
Doncaster Council has been calling for the village of Fishlake to be evacuated, with many residents already being brought out by boat, but more still remaining and taking their chances. The situation there has led to renewed calls that the river (Don) needs to be dredged to help alleviate future issues.
Worksop has declared a 'major incident' after the River Ryton burst its banks. Derby city centre was almost evacuated too, after the river there reached unprecedented levels of 3.35m (11ft). Bentley, on the northern edge of Doncaster has been badly hit by flooding, and this follows it being swamped in floods 12 years ago too.
There is much pain and anger in places like this. People worry if they will be able to afford home insurance anymore (premiums went up after the events 12 years ago), or if they will even be able to get insurance. There was also anger and frustration directed at Doncaster Council, as many residents felt that they did not get protective sandbags issued quickly enough.
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| Shoppers rescued from the floods near Parkgate Shopping Centre, Rotherham (photo: South Yorkshire Police) |
South Yorkshire Fire Service have had to bring in five extra high volume pumps and five boat crews from elsewhere in the country to help deal with the demands they are facing.
The end result is the same...
While both of these events are vastly different in nature, the end results are often the same. In both cases people have tragically died, homes are being lost and businesses ruined. The costs to deal with these events, both during and in the aftermath, are staggering, as is the impact and negative effects on the local, regional and often national economies!
Both events have strong links to climate change effects, and it seems this will happen again and again until we (and especially politicians) wake up to the facts.
Money and effort has to be spent on measures to combat CO2 emissions, to try and prevent the warming scenarios associated with 1.5 - 2°C average temperature rises. This will help lessen the future likelihood of such events getting worse.
Then there must also be money spent on preparation and mitigation to try and preempt what will happen as such events become more frequent / more intense (resolving issues around land use, flood defences, water usage etc.). This will mean that businesses, individuals, councils and governments have to change their mindset on what they do and how they do it - but if changes are not made, then the effects of such events will become more devastating to life, home and business.
Research:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50365131
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50341207
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50365468
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50341846
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