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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Just a week ago, I was in an area called Narooma, which is on the New South Wales south coast. It was on one of the days when the bushfire conditions were really bad and people were basically preparing for the worst. There had been this incredible community meeting the night before where a volunteer rural firefighter sat on the back of a truck with his community all around him and he basically stepped them through exactly what they need to do.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: It was almost like a scene from a movie where this firefighter was sort of preparing his troops for battle almost. Now the next day, the sky was basically blood orange. Visibility was quite bad and all of a sudden this southerly wind that everyone had been expected hit. It started getting darker and then all of a sudden the power went out and it was pitch black and the ash and these fires that were burning just to the south of us had literally turned day into night and as we looked up with torches you could just see the ash falling from the sky in huge chunks.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: It covered absolutely everything. It started raining at points because this bushfire system had created its own weather system above us but it was raining ash and so it was really unsettling and unlike anything I've ever experienced. Jonathan Hare has been covering Australia's unprecedented fire season for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, their ABC.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: Something like 15 million acres have burned thus far. That's roughly the size of West Virginia. I guess if you look at New South Wales at the moment, the burnt-out areas, it's hard to find on the coast an area that hasn't been burnt out. So on the map that authorities put out to talk about where these fires are burning and where the fronts are, areas that have already been burnt out are in black, and the whole map of New South Wales, for example, is just covered in black.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: Massive, massive areas of land. And the other thing about these fires is they're so big and so large and burning so intensely that you can't actually put them out. The best authorities can do is sort of build containment lines around it and hope for a favourable wind that pushes the fire back onto itself, which will put it out because there's nothing left to burn.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: How many people have died at this point? In New South Wales, it's more than 20. I believe the total number nationally is pushing 30. But damage assessment crews are still going through areas and finding bodies. They're finding burnt-out properties and things like that. So it talks to just how quickly these fires have moved through areas and people just didn't have a chance to get out.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: And we're finding a lot of those people that have died have died on the roads, have died in their cars as they've tried to flee some of these areas being impacted. So in addition to this being the hottest year on record in Australia, what's made these fires so unstoppable? One of the biggest problems that authorities have talked about is the fact that Australia has been in a drought for a while now.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: So all of the fuel loads, which is what they call them, which is basically leaves and trees and branches that have fallen from the trees onto the ground, are incredibly dry. And all it takes is a little spark and they just take off into a massive fire. So it just means these fires can take off and race off quite quickly. Firefighters have talked about this year seeing fire behaviour that they've never seen before.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: For example, these fires are burning through areas that are considered rainforest. Even those are dry at the moment, so they're being burnt through as we speak. There's a lot of things people don't expect about fires, and one thing I will say is fires are incredibly scary. These huge fire fronts that just whip up in the wind, they move so quickly catch people unawares.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: But I guess some of the unexpected things I think we seen from this bushfire season has one has been the smoke which has just blanketed huge areas including Sydney, for example, choking the air. People with allergies have really struggled with that as well. People with asthma have really struggled with that. I don't think people really expected that to hang around for so long.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: Another thing I don't think they expected was the impact this will have on things like tourism. People are seeing these images coming out of Australia and going, well, I don't know if I want to visit there right now. What's the political response been? Well, the political response has been interesting. The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has been getting slammed essentially by a lot of people about his response to this bushfire crisis.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: Just two weeks ago, Morrison apologised for being on vacation in Hawaii with his family while his country burned. I've obviously returned from leave and I know that That has caused some great anxiety in Australia, and Jenny and I acknowledge that. And then he's since come home and he's received quite a frosty reception from a lot of locals in these areas that have been affected by bushfire.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: How come we only had four trucks to defend our town? Because our town doesn't have a lot of money, but we have hearts of gold, Mr Prime Minister. No, you're an idiot, mate. You really are. We're getting any votes down here, buddy. No Liberal votes. You're out, son. you are out. You're not welcome, you f***er. We've seen images of firefighters refusing to shake his hand.
--:-- Jonathan Hare: Now, he has been somewhat on the back foot. He announced that the military would be going into these areas to help. He's announced a $2 billion disaster relief fund to try and help these bushfire affected areas. So he's been doing a lot of press conferences and media since to try and look like he's been doing something.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Well, I'm not surprised people are feeling very raw at the moment. And that's why I came today, to be here, to see it for myself, to offer what comfort I could. And there is still some very dangerous days ahead. And we understand that. And that's why we're going to do everything we can to ensure they have every support they will need.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But then there's also been this separate argument around people wanting more action on climate change. There's been huge protests in the streets in recent days, thousands and thousands of people turning out in the capital cities to demand more action on climate change. I'm concerned about the coal and the more coal we burn, the hotter the earth will be.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Many people in this crowd are pointing to a government commission, which 12 years ago warned if the Australian government didn't do something to radically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, that the country would experience catastrophic fires. Many now believe that is a prophecy that has come true. No more coal! No more oil!
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Are you absolutely sure that this is climate change caused? Yes, I'm absolutely certain. The science is telling us this. It's telling us that these extreme heat conditions we've seen this year might occur naturally once every 350 years. But once you add the influence of the human emitted greenhouse gases, we're likely to see those conditions once every eight years. And of course, that number will decline.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: It'll become more frequent as the buildup of gases continues. Given the efforts that other nations are making to reduce their carbon emissions, how can Australia justify opening new coal mines? Because we've got the best mining industry in the world that understands how to do this job properly. Australia is doing its bit, but Australia is not going to write a blank check with its own economy.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The government says that they're meeting their current targets and they're doing enough. Do you feel like there's still a question as to whether these fires are connected to climate change in Australia, or do you feel like everyone's pretty much on the same page? The issue of climate change in Australia still continues to be incredibly polarising.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: There are people saying that there is nothing else this could be. And then there are people on the other side saying Australia's always had bushfire seasons and that this is just a particularly bad bushfire season. First, the tabloid conspiracy that's taken off like wildfire, that it's all the work of arsonists, even activist arsonists.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The only problem with that, there's always been arson in Australia. there have never been fires like these. And I guess an unprecedented bushfire season hasn't really changed the political discussion around this at all. Just thinking about the scale of this, 50 million acres, thousands of homes, dozens dead, I mean, is that surprising to you that it hasn't changed the political discussion?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Not really, I guess, because it always has been like this. But I guess it has been interesting seeing the response by the international community. Obviously, the size of these bushfires has been front page news for a few weeks now. And a few other countries around the world have been sort of, I guess, surprised that it is a topic that is still polarizing.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And in the meantime, it's peak summer in Australia and these fires are still not over. Yeah, we're still in the middle of summer here. We still have many months of dry, hot weather, and what they really need here is a lot of rain, and they need it to be quite heavy and in certain areas, and unfortunately there none of that predicted on the horizon in the short term at least
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So these bushfires could continue on for many months now before we see any kind of reprieve We can't pretend that this is something we've experienced before it's not because the weather activity we're seeing, the extent and spread of the fires, the speed at which they're going, the way in which they're attacking communities who've never ever seen fire before is unprecedented.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Thousands of people remain stranded on beaches, figuring the water may be their only escape. Here in New South Wales, more than 50 fires are still out of control. And the fire danger has gone up to severe and extreme today on account of rising temperatures. Beyond the millions of acres burned, the dozens of people who have died, Australia has lost something like a billion animals.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm Sean Ramos for him. That's in a minute on Today Explained. Support for today's show comes from Adio. What is Adio? Adio is an AI-native customer relationship management system built specifically for the next era of companies.
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--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Some of these fires are burning so intensely that after the fire's gone through, what you're left with is kind of like a moonscape. There's nothing left on the ground, it's like a soot layer and then there's just sticks of what used to be trees but they're just black toothpicks sticking up from the ground
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Everything from the top of the canopy down to the soil layer is gone My name's Professor Sarah Legg, I'm with the Australian National University but I live in northern New South Wales Our area was one of the first regions to go up in flames in November.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Among the worst of the fires, of course, here in Australia is in New South Wales. And the focus is very much as well on these three huge fires, which officials fear could merge into a mega blaze across New South Wales and the Victoria border.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: You know, it's worth noting that a lot of Australian habitats are fire adapted. adapted so fire does occur and reoccur in those habitats at some frequency but these fires are different they're enormous they're affecting heaps and heaps of areas and habitats all at the same time and they're leaving nothing in their wake.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: One of the biggest concerns wildlife caught in the fire's path images of residents saving koalas going viral. Very thirsty boy. Poor little thing Has anyone got any more? He's so thirsty.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Just on Kangaroo Island alone, off the coast of South Australia, half of the koala population we think has been killed. And they're the species that are easy to count. They've broken through the fence here, trying to get through, and look at this, it's just... it's disturbing. It is really, really disturbing.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Where could they have gone, these animals? They're nowhere for them to go. Now they're just littered on the side of the road. They're everywhere. heartbreaking, unimaginable, sorry. It's quite emotional.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: I guess this is where we get to this number that it's almost hard to wrap your head around, but that a billion animals have been lost in these most recent fires in Australia. Is that number accurate? It's a ballpark number, but it's based on estimates of the density of mammals, birds and reptiles in those environments.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: So it's in the right kind of area in terms of scale of impact because there's no food. I mean if you seen pictures of these landscapes they are just nuked There nothing left So even if individual animals escaped the fire escaped being burnt directly they likely to die in the coming weeks and months
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Who's going to die? What kind of animals are dying here? I mean, the species that people are seeing, I guess on the media, would probably mostly be koalas, maybe possums, maybe kangaroos. But there's lots of other animals living in those forests, right down to very small marsupials.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: So to give you an example, there's a little carnivorous marsupial called the Kangaroo Island Dunnart. It's kind of the size of a mouse. It lives on an island called Kangaroo Island. Now this Dunnart, its entire global distribution is restricted to the national park on that island and its entire habitat's gone up in flames.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: I mean, there's many, many more things like silver-tailed antichinus. That's again, another small marsupial carnivore. Things like the long-footed potteroo, that's kind of a mini kangaroo that lives in the forests of East Gippsland in Victoria. Very large proportion of its habitat's gone up in flames.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: There's also birds like the kangaroo island, glossy black cockatoo. People often think that birds escape fires because they can fly, but the smoke and the heat and the lack of visibility creates a lot of confusion, I guess. and so it's not unusual to come across big mobs of bird corpses after the fire event, not far from where the fire occurred.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: And a large proportion of Australia's animals are endemic, so that means they're found in Australia and nowhere else in the world. So, you know, if the populations here experience declines, and in some cases populations and species are going to be brought to the brink of extinction by this event, then those declines are basically a global decline.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: So they're not just relevant to Australia. They're relevant to the whole world. And I mean, just thinking about the loss or potential loss of a billion animals, when was the last time something like that happened on this planet?
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Oh, well, gosh, I don't know. I mean, you know, the other big fire events that have happened in the last 10 or so years in California and Siberia have been monstrous, but much smaller in scale, actually. than this fire event in Australia. So in terms of their sort of immediate impact on animal lives, I don't know what you would compare it to.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: But as shocking as that statistic is, probably the bigger, longer-lasting impact is going to be what it does to species declines and the ability of species to hang on. So it's the extinctions that we're actually more worried about. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you cannot think of an event like this in our history, in our recorded history?
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Is that what you were saying? Well, I can't. Maybe others can. But the other scary thing about this is that this event occurred with an average of one degree of warming globally. And unless we get serious about climate change, we're looking at three to four degrees of warming.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: I can't even imagine what Australia is going to look like with three to four degrees of warming, if this is what happens with one degree of warming. It's a terrifying future. Yeah. I mean, as someone who's spent her life studying these species and spending time in their habitat, can I ask you how it's been these past few months watching these ecosystems burn?
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Yeah, you're right. I've spent my lifetime working in conservation, and it feels like all of those efforts where you're just inching forward all the time, trying to make a positive difference, just got wiped out in the space of a few weeks. So that's thoroughly depressing.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: And I guess the anger comes from, we all knew this was going to happen. It's not exactly a surprise. And scientists have been warning governments of the impacts of not addressing climate change, which is the ultimate driver here, for a long time.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: And the policy in action, particularly in our country, in Australia, is incredibly frustrating and it's hard not to be angry about it. Do you feel, as an ecologist, like partly responsible for speaking for these animals?
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: Look, I guess I feel responsible for trying to assemble all the evidence that we can about what's getting impacted and how and what can be done about it. But I guess ultimately I think the broader society makes decisions about what you do with that information.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: And after this experience, what do you think is the most pertinent piece of information that you want out there in the world? But I guess we're not the only species living on this planet. We do have a responsibility not to wreck the place because of our myopia.
--:-- Professor Sarah Legg: and I really hope that this event will galvanise a change in attitude across the world to just take more responsibility for what we're doing on the planet, take more care of it.
