Climate change drives up risk of bushfire in AustraliaFriday 13 Dec 2013
According to Chief Councillor, Professor Tim Flannery, hot dry conditions are the ingredients for bushfires, and climate change is making conditions hotter and drier in the southeast and southwest of Australia. The report finds that the number of record hot days has doubled in the last 50 years, heat waves have become longer and more frequent, while some parts of the country are becoming drier. "Extreme fire weather has already increased over the last 30 years, across the southeast of Australia where some of Australia's largest population centres are located," he said. The fire season is getting longer with fire weather now extending into October and March, he said, adding, "This is reducing opportunities for hazard reduction burning meaning that there's less chance to safely reduce the fuel." The report also finds that recent bushfires have been influenced by record hot dry conditions. "NSW has experienced the hottest September on record; days well above average in October and exceptionally dry conditions. These conditions mean that fire risk has been extremely high and we have already seen severe bushfires in New South Wales before summer has even begun," the report said. According to the report, fire frequency and intensity is expected to increase substantially in many regions, especially in those regions currently most affected by bushfires. The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) following the release of the report by the Climate Council welcomed a sensible debate about the role of effective fuel reduction to help control future bushfires. Chief Executive Officer Mr Ross Hampton said, “The Climate Council points to a scenario where fuel reduction may have to be massively increased to manage greater frequency and severity of bushfires. AFPA agrees and argues that removing some of that fuel load by mechanical means instead of just burning must be part of the solution”. “In bushfire prone areas where people live the fuel load can be reduced by removing small trees from where there are too many, removing woody debris on the ground and taking out a lot of the bushy undergrowth. This can be followed by a controlled burn that is far less likely to get out of control because there is less fuel”. "These approaches to fuel management are being adopted in other fire prone areas such as in the western United States, where forest land management agencies such as the US Forest Service are undertaking combined tree thinning controlled burns to reduce fuel levels”, said Mr Hampton. The report can be downloaded here | ||
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