Australia bushfires: Sydney facing 'catastrophic' threat

[moon]

Australia bushfires: Sydney facing 'catastrophic' threat

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50365131

Black fella-mob say ' Hunt the white-fella denier wanker- stick his head on a pole '

[moon]

This is not normal: what's different about the NSW mega fires

I write this piece reluctantly, because there are still possible fire victims unaccounted for; people have lost loved ones; and hundreds of families have lost their homes. My heart goes out to them. I don’t want to detract in any way from the vital safety messages that our fire commissioners and Premier will be making about Tuesday’s fire potential.

“Unprecedented” is a word that we are hearing a lot: from fire chiefs, politicians, and the weather bureau. I have just returned from California where I spoke to fire chiefs still battling unseasonal fires. The same word, “unprecedented”, came up.

Unprecedented dryness; reductions in long-term rainfall; low humidity; high temperatures; wind velocities; fire danger indices; fire spread and ferocity; instances of pyro-convective fires (fire storms – making their own weather); early starts and late finishes to bushfire seasons. An established long-term trend driven by a warming, drying climate. The numbers don’t lie, and the science is clear.
If anyone tells you, “This is part of a normal cycle” or “We’ve had fires like this before”, smile politely and walk away, because they don’t know what they’re talking about.

In NSW, our worst fire years were almost always during an El Nino event, and major property losses generally occurred from late November to February. Based on more than a century of weather observations our official fire danger season is legislated from October 1 to March 31. During the 2000s though, major fires have regularly started in August and September, and sometimes go through to April.

The October 2013 fires that destroyed more than 200 homes were the earliest large-loss fires in NSW history – again, not during an El Nino.

This year, by the beginning of November, we had already lost about as many homes as during the disastrous 2001-2002 bushfire season. We’ve now eclipsed 1994 fire losses.



On Friday, the NSW Rural Fire Service sent out an alert that fires were creating thunderstorms – pyro-convective events. In my 47 years of fighting fires I don’t remember this happening much. Now it happens quite regularly. On Friday, the atmosphere was relatively stable and therefore shouldn’t have been conducive to these wildly unpredictable and dangerous events. Yet it happened. Unprecedented.

The drought we are facing is more intense than the Millennium Drought, with higher levels of evaporation due to higher temperatures. This has dried out the bush and made it easier for fires to start, easier for them to spread quickly, and as we saw on Friday, enabling spot fires to start twice as far ahead of the main fires as we would normally expect.

Together with 22 other retired fire and emergency service chiefs, I spoke out earlier this year. We felt we had a duty to tell people how climate change is super-charging our natural disaster risks. I wish we were wrong, but we’re not.

I’m confident that our national government, when the smoke and dust settles, will finally see the obvious and understand the word “unprecedented”. I’m sure it will then start to take decisive action to tackle the base cause – greenhouse emissions - then use the high moral ground to lean on other countries to also do the right thing.

In the meantime, please, please play it safe, and act on the vital fire service warnings.

Greg Mullins is a former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner and a councillor on the Climate Council.


https://www.smh.com.au/national/this...nrn4noxfyKwVyU






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About which Greta Thunberg pointed out in her tweet:
"The numbers don’t lie, and the science is clear.
If anyone tells you, 'This is part of a normal cycle' or 'We’ve had fires like this before', smile politely and walk away, because they don’t know what they’re talking about."

I'm pretty much a peaceable, unarmed combat sort of gal- but if you stood beside me at one of these scenes of death, destruction and despair and said ' There's no climate shift, this is normal, fires happen ' I'd kill ya.
You think you're a smartass. To me you're an arsonist.

[moon]

‘Worse than originally forecast’: Catastrophic fire danger in Greater Sydney, other areas on Tuesday
A “catastrophic” fire danger rating has been issued for Greater Sydney on Tuesday for the first time in history. Two other regions are now impacted. Here’s what that means.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/e...c7842f384ae205

[moon]

After the prime minister, Scott Morrison, offered “thoughts and prayers” to those who had lost family and homes, but refused to answer questions on climate change, critics compared his “thoughts and prayers” to those offered by the NRA after mass shootings in the US, as substitute for discussion on gun control.

https://www.theguardian.com/australi...week-ever-seen

Self-serving ecocidal asshole.

[ThatOwlWoman]

These wildfires are terrifying.

[moon]

Yeah;

https://www.news.com.au/technology/e...c7842f384ae205


WHO IS IMPACTED?

Greater Sydney council areas: The Hills; Blacktown; Blue Mountains; Burwood; Camden; Campbelltown; Canada Bay; Fairfield; Hawkesbury; Hornsby; Hunters Hill; Kogarah; Ku-ring-gai; Lane Cove; Liverpool; Mosman; North Sydney; Parramatta; Penrith; Randwick; Ryde; Strathfield; Sutherland; Sydney; Waverley; Willoughby; Woollahra; Bayside; Canterbury-Bankstown; Central Coast; Cumberland; Georges River; Inner West and Northern Beaches.

RELATED: NSW and Qld bushfires: Worst may still be yet to come

Greater Hunter council areas: Cessnock; Dungog; Lake Macquarie; Maitland; Muswellbrook; Newcastle; Port Stephens; Singleton and Upper Hunter.

Illawarra/Shoalhaven council areas: Kiama; Shellharbour; Shoalhaven; Wingecarribee; Wollondilly and Wollongong.

But the RFS has emphasised the danger isn’t limited to the areas facing a catastrophic fire warning.

Having a major city threatened might just wake up some Denier assholes.
The current Australian government is actually PROMOTING the burning of fossil fuels.

[Irish]

yeah there's never been drought in Australia till now...

[ThatOwlWoman]

Yeah;


Having a major city threatened might just wake up some Denier assholes.
The current Australian government is actually PROMOTING the burning of fossil fuels.

How do they even begin to put those fires out, anyways? Wouldn't dropping sea water on the fire destroy the soil?

The Aussies are sure in my hopes for the best.

[reagansghost]

Australia has been burning for years, definitely pegged to AGW

and the US hasn't seen that last of the Polar Vortex's yet either...……………..


Arctic Cold Surge Will Shatter Hundreds of Mid-November Records in the Plains, Midwest, South and East Through Thursday


https://weather.com/forecast/regiona..._ven=hp-slot-2

[moon]

yeah there's never been drought in Australia till now...

Are you a total moron by birth or did it come with practice ?

[moon]

How do they even begin to put those fires out, anyways? Wouldn't dropping sea water on the fire destroy the soil?

The Aussies are sure in my hopes for the best.

Yes- a quick search shows that sea-water is problematic. It requires special licences, although how those are obtained in an emergency is food for thought.

In severe drought I wonder how they manage to maintain their fresh-water pick-up points ?

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/...pour-wildfires

[ThatOwlWoman]

I just cannot even imagine how awful it must be. The entire state of NSW is under the warning.... where are the ppl in Sydney supposed to go if the fire gets to their area??

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/11/77827...trophic-danger

[moon]

I just cannot even imagine how awful it must be. The entire state of NSW is under the warning.... where are the ppl in Sydney supposed to go if the fire gets to their area??

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/11/77827...trophic-danger

I can't recall a major city being under threat before- so I wonder if there are any workable contingency plans at all. Sydney- according to the graphics, is almost surrounded.
Australian news reports a sudden cooling this evening- which sounds positive but actually leads to unexpected alterations in the directions of spread.

Any Australian members of the Denier Choir must be heading for the airports about now.
Thankfully- this thread is troll-free by design.

[moon]

World Rally Championship: Rally Australia cancelled due to bushfires

https://www.bbc.com/sport/motorsport/50386204

That's a bit less environmental damage then.
My, oh my- how our lifestyles are going to have to change.

[ThatOwlWoman]

I can't recall a major city being under threat before- so I wonder if there are any workable contingency plans at all. Sydney- according to the graphics, is almost surrounded.
Australian news reports a sudden cooling this evening- which sounds positive but actually leads to unexpected alterations in the directions of spread.

Any Australian members of the Denier Choir must be heading for the airports about now.
Thankfully- this thread is troll-free by design.

I'm sure if you had let the H.Moron in, he'd be claiming that this is all "natural" and nothing whatsoever to do with climate change. Here he is now!