We escaped through blackened landscapes where sheep wandered paddocks with the wool burnt off their backs. My three-year-old son, sensing the mood, asked why his dad and I were so quiet.
Bushfires are not the only weather and climate events set to ravage Australia in coming months.
Dave Hunt/AAP
The peak time for heatwaves in southern Australia has not yet arrived. Many parts of Australia can expect heavy rains and flooding. And northern Australia’s cyclone season is just gearing up.
An evacuation centre at the Hanging Rock Sports Club Function Centre at Batemans Bay, Friday, January 3, 2020. Maybe it’s time to rearrange Australian calendar and reschedule the peak holiday period to March or April, instead of December and January.
AAP Image/DEAN LEWINS
People tend to pay attention when things get personal, so you need to know how climate change is damaging things in your life.
Scott Morrison doesn’t seem to grasp that while he likes to emphasise his relationship with the ordinary Australian, as prime minister he is not an ordinary Australian.
AAP/Paul Braven
As the prime minister finally reads the mood and returns home, the holiday affair reflects badly on him and his media team.
At Echo Point lookout in Katoomba, NSW, people watch smoke from the Green Wattle Creek fire beyond The Three Sisters rock formation.
AAP/Steven Saphore
Cherine Fahd, University of Technology Sydney et Sara Oscar, University of Technology Sydney
Instagram bushfire images cut through our news fatigue. This developing brand of photojournalism brings authenticity and a different sense of proximity.
I’d hoped to keep my absence nice and private, especially from those quiet Australians fighting fires. Regrettably, despite best efforts, my press office wasn’t able to keep a lid on the story.
Volunteer firefighting crews have attempted to crowdfund equipment and supplies.
AAP Image/Supplied, DFES Incident Photographer Lewis van Bommel
Farmers seeking relief from the drought and firefighters stretched to their limits have turned to crowdfunding for help. But public appeal shouldn’t replace good governance.
We don’t need to send in the army every time there’s a natural disaster, or create a national fire fighting force. We need to think practically about working together in emergencies.
Morrison has refused to meet calls for a national summit or a COAG meeting on the fire effort.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
With smoke haze this week at its most hazardous level yet, people on Australia’s east coast have been taking precautions to protect their health. But some methods are more effective than others.
Smoke is blanketing Australia’s most populated city, making it impossibly to ignore the reality of climate change.
Joel Carrett/AAP
Unprecedented fires are devastating koalas along Australia’s east coast. These sudden drops in population put the survivors at risk of inbreeding.
This week’s climate conference in Madrid is key to getting global cooperation on climate change, the impacts of which are already being felt.
Dean Lewins/AAP
Thousands of people in Australia and around the world have rallied to knit and crochet comfort items for wildlife. Their efforts are the latest in a long history of crafting for a cause.
The vast majority of bushfire fighters in Australia are volunteers. And their job is only getting harder.
Dean Lewins/AAP
Volunteer numbers are shrinking in rural areas, leaving fewer people to battle bushfires. We need to change our thinking about volunteering to recruit more firefighters and keep the ones we have.
In an emergency, like a bushfire, making sure you have enough of your regular medication can mean the difference between life and death. But there are many ways to prepare.
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