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Burnt Trees in Australia

The Aboriginal Landscape After The Australian Wildfires

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Australian wildfires are not uncommon and the Australian summer holds an annual and expected fire season. The naturally hot and dry climate is prone to fires either by an accidental spark or lightning strike. The recent wildfires however, having started in September 2019 and still burning, have proved themselves to be of greater devastation and exceeding magnitude than normal. They have burned over six million hectares of land, generating smoke that shrouds cities and is causing health concerns. It is estimated that one billion animals  have been killed, and habitats destroyed leaving survivors facing dehydration. Over twenty-five people have been killed and countless homes destroyed. It is an understatement to say that the fires have devastated the land.

In terms of what caused such catastrophic fires, Australia had suffered a long period of drought after seeing a year of record temperatures. Climate change is generally accepted to have played a part in the wildfires, due to the rising global and thus Australia’s temperatures, from unnatural CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This sadly therefore indicates that fires are set to get worse and more intense in future years.

The Indigenous cultures of Australia, who have a deep and profound relationship with the land, saw great swathes of their homes, loved landscapes and sacred spaces swallowed up by flames. In one example, the Yuin people, predominately living in areas of New South Wales are concerned that several sites of cultural importance have been wiped out completely particularly between Mumbulla mountain and Gulaga.

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As the fires ravaged through national parks and other areas, many important Aboriginal sites have been affected. In an article from nature.com, it is indicated that archaeologists and Aboriginal people alike are concerned for these areas but the devastation has not yet been assessed. Even if the fires have not destroyed cultural sites or homes completely, the consequences of by-products such as smoke may have affected stone paintings and sacred natural sites may have been damaged.

In some areas the wildfires have revealed new areas of interest, such as previously unknown sections to an ancient aquatic system over 6000 years old, dating back further than the pyramids and Stonehenge, created by the Gunditjmara people. The fires may have also opened up areas that previously were unavailable for human access, allowing the investigation of new sites. Many Aboriginal areas that are feared to be damaged are relatively new to archaeological knowledge, but nonetheless remain of significant and current value to Indigenous peoples.

In light of the wildfires, many have begun to look to Aboriginal culture for solutions, some Indigenous spokespersons speaking out to re-establish the Aboriginal technique of “cultural burning” which was previously used by Indigenous people to tend to, care for, and protect the land and its inhabitants from such fires.

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Stemming from the profound, unique, and deep understanding of the land that Aboriginal culture has cultivated over hundreds of years, the practice of “cultural burning” is a technique that involves setting controlled fires in areas of excessive debris at the right time of year to prevent larger fires in hotter periods. The exercise, over thousands of years old and perfected by Indigenous cultures, aims to nourish the land, taking into consideration the habitats of animals among other elements.

Oliver Costello of the national Indigenous Firesticks Alliance, was quoted in The Guardian as it being “important for the health and regeneration of particular plants and animals. It retains balance and allows destructive elements to be prevented or destroyed. Animals are able to safely react to the smaller fires and it keeps their habitat safe.”

Before Australia was colonized and its land unfairly taken from the Aboriginal people, the practice of “cultural burning” was regularly undertaken. The practice was skilled and frequent, the nuances of which were arguably lost on the colonizers. Many Aboriginal people today, believe there is a need to return to cultural burning in order to preserve and nurture the land. Local authorities however, have banned it, opting for their own “controlled burns” which Shannon Foster, a knowledge keeper for the D’harawal people, commented to the BBC:

“The current controlled burns destroy everything. It’s a naive way to practice fire management, and it isn’t hearing the Indigenous people who know the land best.”

When sought, authorities have denied previously permissions for cultural burns, despite Aboriginal elders being concerned about the risk of out of control fires for some time. Perhaps though, it is now time to work with and value the ideas of Aboriginal cultures. Utilizing their deep and unique understanding of the land is one way of preserving and nourishing Australia’s beautiful landscape and culture. After all, it is their land too.

Australia Bushfire

Deadly Bushfires Burning Out Of Control In Several Areas of Australia

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Bushfires season has started with a bang in Australia with fires raging up the east coast and warnings of ‘extremely dangerous conditions’ being raised across the country in Western Australia.

This past week has seen fire crews battling over 120 fires in both New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland as well as hundreds of properties being destroyed and even loss of life in some areas.

A man who has yet to be identified was found by fire fighters in destroyed bush land around 250 miles north of Sydney which follows the earlier deaths of Julie Fletcher, 63, George Nole, age unknown, and Vivian Chaplain, 69, all of whom were found in separate locations around NSW.

And with more than a million hectares of land being consumed by the fires since September – more than three times the amount for the whole of last year’s season – fire chiefs have warned that the worst is ‘still ahead of us’.

Residents in Queensland were forced to flee their homes after over 70 fires activated emergency warnings. Although most home owners headed to safer territory some stayed to try to defend their homes, working with fire crews as and where they could.

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In Yeppoon, 400 miles north of Brisbane, Queensland, a 16 year old boy has been charged with arson after it was claimed he had deliberately started a damaging fire, resulting in the loss of 14 homes. Fortunately there were no fatalities in this scenario. Potential arson attacks in the Sydney suburb of South Turramurra have also been criticized by their shocked mayor, Jennifer Anderson, ‘As mayor it seems almost unimaginable that someone would put our community in such danger’.

While in Pechey, just north of Toowoomba (around 78 miles from Brisbane) severe winds brought down a privately owned helicopter that was dropping water onto fires, causing injuries to the 70 year old pilot. Although the pilot was taken to hospital in a stable condition the crash landed helicopter brought fresh problems to the fire fighters, with many fearing it could explode thanks to the winds moving the fires across the land.

Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers confirmed that the fight to control the fires was on-going thanks to the predicted higher temperatures coming in although even in the milder temperatures there was still plenty of ‘aggressive fire behavior simply because it’s so dry’.

And even with aerial water drops from helicopters the fires are still burning out of control thanks to the ferocious winds making the flames change directions so often it is difficult to know where to start first.

In New South Wales officials issued the greater Sydney area with its first ever ‘catastrophic’ fire warning and residents have also had to evacuate their homes and some schools have had to close.

Over the last few days fire-fighters have been drafted in from other states as well as New Zealand to help fight the fires and give the Queensland and NSW fire departments some much needed rest before they head back out again. Although there are currently more than 1000 fire-fighters at any one time in the field, it is also believed the army will be called in to carry out Australia’s largest peacetime military operation to help not only with extinguishing the fires but also the massive clear-up operation that will be required once the fires have finally burnt out.

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On the other side of the country in Western Australia two blazes have threatened homes in the port city of Geraldton, roughly 260 miles north of its capital Perth while around twelve fires continue to burn in other areas of the state.

With the bush fire season starting earlier, lasting longer and seeing a much higher amount of scrub land lost – as well as all the wildlife that are in these areas – many are asking if it has anything to do with climate change.

2017 was Australia’s fourth hottest year on record while 2018 was its third, however it was also the warmest summer on record, showing that temperatures are increasing across this great continent. Climate change has been attributed to conditions including increasing temperatures as well as a rise in natural disasters across the world such as fires, droughts, severe snow and tsunamis.

Although this is a worldwide problem, a recent UN report declared Australia was not doing enough in reducing the CO2 emissions. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to answer questions on climate change while his government ministers continue to dismiss climate change concerns completely.

Last week also saw a coalition of retired fire chiefs call out the government for ignoring their warning about the potential for increasing fire tragedies due to climate change.

Tasmanian former chief fire officer Mike Brown stated ‘Things aren’t going to get better if our elected leaders don’t face this issue head on, and deliver the emissions reductions we need.’

Australia Bushfire

Rising Temperatures In Antarctica’s Atmosphere Is Now Affecting Australia

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When it comes to our world’s natural environment, everything is connected. Whether it be fires in Africa helping put out fires in the Amazon rain forest, or lab grown coral in Florida that will help rebuild the Great Barrier Reef, different pieces of the Earth and its inhabitants can help or hinder other parts on the complete opposite side of the world. Antarctica and Australia are two parts of the world that couldn’t be more opposite, and yet, they also couldn’t be more connected; now more than ever. According to Science Alert Magazine (SA), record high temperatures in Antarctica, that will be occurring throughout the next few weeks, are predicted to bring abnormally high spring temperatures and abnormally low amounts of rainfall to New South Wales and southern Queensland in Australia. 

Temperatures in the Southern Pole areas of the world began warming the last week of August, specifically in the stratosphere above the Pole (SA). The stratosphere is the second layer, out of five, in the Earth’s atmosphere. It begins about 32 miles above the Earth’s surface, and contains an abundance of ozone. Ozone is an oxygen like molecule that absorbs UV radiation from the sun and uses that to heat this layer of the Earth, along with the level below it, according to soft schools online definition. This quick heating was reported as a “sudden stratospheric warming” meaning that as the weeks progress temperatures will continue to warm and intensify and eventually extend down onto the actual surface of the Earth and move to affect areas of Eastern Australia (SA). 

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“Every winter, westerly winds – often up to 120 miles per hour – develop in the stratosphere high above the South Pole and circle the polar region. The winds develop as a result of the difference in temperature over the pole and the Southern Ocean. As the sun shifts southward during spring, the polar region starts to warm. Waves of air from the lower atmosphere warm the stratosphere above the South Pole, and weaken or “mix” the high-speed westerly winds. Very rarely, if the waves are strong enough they can rapidly break down the polar vortex, actually reversing the direction of the winds so they become easterly. This is the technical definition of ‘sudden stratospheric warming’,” according to Harry Hendon of the Bureau of Meteorology.

So, more simply put, the warmer the polar regions become, the stronger the winds in the stratosphere can become, so much so that they actually can reverse their normal western direction to head East, and towards Australia. These warm and intense winds in the stratosphere above Australia is what will cause an abnormally warm spring season, and a lack of rainfall. 

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Bush-fire’s In Australia

This can be detrimental for both Australia and Antarctica. In Australia higher temperatures and reduced rainfall means there’s a much higher risk for wildfires or bush-fires, which are much more common in Australia. In fact, this week parts of Australia including New South Wales and Sydney have declared a seven day state of emergency in response to a catastrophic fire warning, according to CNN. Currently 70 large bush-fires are occurring in New South Wales alone, Australian authorities haven’t witnessed this much damage and increased safety risk since the creation of Sydney’s updated fire regulation system in 2009. 

Additionally, an increase in heated wind in the stratosphere can lead to a depletion of ozone, creating more holes in our Earth’s ozone layer, which means less protection from harmful UV radiation being absorbed from the sun. We need these protective layers to keep Antarctica cold, sea levels low, Australia cool and without fires. The process of Antarctic winds affecting Australia and other areas of the world is not surprising, but it is threatening. This is just one piece of the larger puzzle that is climate change. If the world’s powers don’t start taking more immediate action in response to cataclysmic natural events such as this, some bush-fires in Australia will be the least of our worries.