Pall of smoke a grim reminder of climate change risks

The pall of smoke obscuring Sydney is a grim reminder that the impact of climate change is pervasive and all-too real.

The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and increased agricultural production did not cause the bushfires or the protracted drought affecting Australia. But they have caused global warming which has, in turn, exacerbated the scale and intensity of these calamities.

Even people who have ignored the issue are getting an inkling that climate change is not just a political debate but something that will affect their daily lives. The hazy skies are a warning that it will change the great Australian summer.

The start of the hot weather each year will no longer be an invitation to happy days at the beach. It will instead be the harbinger of weeks and months when the skies are leaden with smoke, the sun looks like a glaring searchlight and the air smells worse than in Shenzhen or Lagos.

Read the Editorial from The Sydney Morning Herald - “Pall of smoke a grim reminder of climate change risks.”