Are Australia’s Bushfires The Result of Climate Change?

For the last few months, my country has been on fire. An estimated 18.6 million hectares have been burnt, nearly 6,000 buildings destroyed, almost one billion animals were killed, and at least 29 people are dead.These bushfires are regarded by the NSW Rural Fire Service as the worst bushfire season in memory for that state.

Was climate change responsible for this?

Australia’s ravaged landscape has drawn the attention and sympathy of people from every corner on earth, with multi-million dollar donations pouring in to help those affected, as well as to support the brave men and women who are on the frontlines fighting the fires. For some, there is no clearer case for the effects of anthropogenic global warming than to simply take a glance at Australia; a country which is literally aflame.

As a result, the fires have sparked worldwide debate surrounding climate change — as well as Australia’s failure to address the issue. Primarily, the conversation has centered around Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has faced a tsunami of backlash after he was found to be on holiday in Hawaii as the fires began to worsen in December. Scott Morison also happens to be religious, and pretty quiet when it comes to his opinions on climate change. Needless to say, ScoMo (as he’s colloquially called) has served as the embodiment and personification of all climate denialism, with many seeing him as the spark which started Australia’s recent burning.

Read the Medium story by Louis O’Neill - “Are Australia’s Bushfires The Result of Climate Change?”

(Louis, it seems, is attached to "Scotty from marketing" department - Robert McLean)

Helping us understand 'droughts and flooding rains'

Dorothy Mackellar’s poem “My Country” is the frequent refuge of climate deniers.

Their arguments nearly always look to the fourth line of the second verse that says, “Of droughts and flooding rains.” as justification of their beliefs.

It seems the words of a poem written early in the 20^th century in London by a homesick Australian carry more weight, and authority, from the science of the 20^th and 21^st century.

Such thoughts we unavoidable in reading a piece published today in the University of Melbourne’s “Voice” section in the Melbourne Age headed: “Scientists unearth Australia’s early historical records of droughtsand flooding rains”.

That story, written by Stav Psonis, discusses a world-first study by University climate researchers of Australia’s early settlement climate history.

“In the study, researchers from the School of Earth Sciences have uncovered historical weather records as far back as 1788 in southeastern Australia, completing our understanding of Australia’s natural climate variability before the beginning of official records in 1910,” Psonis reports.

The reasoning of climate skeptics is 'spurious'

Dorothea Mackellar.

The retreat by many to metaphors painted by Dorothea Mackellar is absurd reasoning, according to university research fellows, Sophie Lewis and Sarah Perkins.

Sophie, from the University of Melbourne, and Sarah, from the University of New South Wales, say references to the poet’s 1908 writings are simply “spurious”.

Sophie and Sarah were critical of those who found comfort in the poem “My Country” using it to legitimise their view that the extreme weather events were just natural variation.

An article headed: “Global meteorology report puts yet more heat on climate politics” by the pair of research fellows was published today on The Conversation.