The Research article was posted by “Nature Climate Change” and finds that the total area of forest burnt by recent bushfires exceeds 20%, at 21%.
The 2019/20 bush fire season is being described by scientists as unprecedented, and having “devastating consequences” for both humans and nature. It is important, however, to remain realist as a lot of unknowingly false information has been circulating around the internet concerning these bush fires, for example suggestive maps which do not give a true indication of the physical phenomenon, be aware of those.
The Causes of the Extreme Bush Fire Season
There are 3, currently, main known causes that may have helped to increase the Australian temperatures this Summer (December to February). One of which is climate change, the human induced, a gradual increase in temperature across the surface of the earth due to human activities. This raises global temperatures and as a result may have aided in producing more intense fires.
Another possible cause is the El Nino Southern Oscillation. A lack of cold sea surface temperatures over the Pacific may help to develop and maintain high pressure over the eastern coast of Australia, helping to maintain wild fire activity. Finally, the Indian Ocean Dipole. This is like El Nino, but spans the Indian Ocean.
As you can see from the graph below, the Indian Ocean Dipole was extremely positive in late 2019, as evidenced by the soaring red line. When the Indian Ocean Dipole is positive, high pressure is thought to increase in the Eastern Australia region, helping to bolster temperatures.
The impact, however, on climate change on these so called “telleconnections”, as such, remains a little uncertain. There has been some research to suggest that increasing global temperatures may cause them, such as El Nino, to act or behave differently. Nonetheless, this bush fire season has been severe with major impacts.