Indonesian peatlands are important to many people: farmers, bureaucrats, businesspeople, and conservationists. But preserving this value for everyone will mean listening to everyone’s concerns.
Scientists work hard to understand fire activity and how it relates to vegetation communities, topography and climate change.
Shutterstock
Rebuilding small communities on the same site in the same way seldom works. It’s not about getting back to where you were, but rather grasping the opportunity to create a more resilient place.
The higher the plume, the bigger the problem.
Jim Peaco/Wikimedia Commons
When a bushfire rages so high it creates its own thunderstorm, it becomes a ‘firestorm’ - and makes life much more difficult for firefighters. We still have a lot to learn about what triggers them.
Bushfires were the most common disaster in New South Wales over the past decade.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Researchers have found a disaster “hotspot” in northern New South Wales, where nearly half of the state’s most disadvantaged communities are found.
When New South Wales burned in 2013, Tony Abbott was quick to point out that individual events can’t be attributed to climate change. But they can.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
The science of attributing extreme weather events to human-induced climate change has evolved rapidly in recent years. But how we communicate it to the public has not kept pace with this advance.
Australia’s oceans are heating up.
Richard Rydge/Flickr
The new State of the Climate report outlines Australia’s rising temperatures and its regional rainfall declines - and the trends that are locked in for the coming few decades due to greenhouse emissions.
Huge swathes of Tasmania have burned this year.
Warren Frey/Tasmania Fire Service
A comprehensive analysis of Tasmania’s natural disaster risks has identified bushfire as the biggest threat, alongside emerging issues such as disease epidemics and heatwaves.
The Grampians, like much of Australia, has swung from Millennium Drought to Big Wet and back again, putting animal populations on a rollercoaster that could get worse as climate change bites.
Fire rages through the forest in a typical Australian bushfire.
Flickr/HighExposure
2015 was the world’s hottest year on record. The US State of the Climate report has rounded up the litany of temperature and other records that were broken all over the globe.
Eventually reduced rainfall hit much of Australia thanks to El Niño.
Andrew Watkins
Victoria’s volcanic plains offer fertile ground for grasslands teeming with wildflowers. But that same fertility has also made the plains a tempting target for grazers and growers, and developers too.
Alpine meadows are a pretty rare sight in Australia.
Colin Totterdell
The alpine landscapes of Australia’s southeast and Tasmania are home to hundreds of rare plants and animals. They’re healthy for now, but need careful looking after.
Ranger Ray Nadjamerrek demonstrates early dry season burning techniques in West Arnhem Land, Australia.
Warddeken Land Management.
This summer has seen Tasmania suffer through drought, bushfires, floods and the worst marine heatwave on record. Is this what life under a climate-changed future will be like?
Bushfires and heatwaves are expected to increase and significantly impact on Australian cities and urban communities.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Tim Curran, Lincoln University, New Zealand; George Perry, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, and Sarah Wyse, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
You might think having trees around your home is the worst idea during a bushfire, but some plants can actually help repel fire.
Leatherwood flowers give Tasmanian honey its unique taste.
Anthony O'Grady