Bushfires in the tropics: Queensland faces terrifying new reality

Late on Sunday night, a tropical cyclone formed off the north Queensland coast.

 Queensland firefighters say blazes have become more
intense and longer-lasting in recent years. 

The storm has begun a track towards the coast, where more than 100 bushfires are still burning after week-long heatwaves and “unprecedented” conditions. Tropical cyclone Owen will bring some relief from the stinking heat; lower temperatures and rainfall that should help firefighters control the most threatening fires by midweek.

Queensland’s exhausted emergency services will not welcome Owen’s track towards the shore with any sense of respite; to them the blended ends of disaster seasons represent a horror scenario, but one many have seen coming.

Paul Gray, a representative of the Queensland Firefighters’ Union, says the nature of bushfires has noticeably changed in recent years. The fires, he says, have become more intense and longer-lasting. Last week conditions in parts of Queensland were classified “catastrophic” for the first time. The rating has only existed since 2009, but no bushfire in the state since 1966, when warnings were first introduced, would have been considered so dangerous.

Read the story from The Guardian by Ben Smee - “Bushfires in the tropics: Queensland faces terrifying new reality.”

Queensland fires could see heat, dry lightning and potential tropical cyclone add to state's problems

Authorities say Sunday will be a day of vigilance for fire-ravaged parts of Queensland, amid the threat of blazes caused by lightning and the possibility of a tropical cyclone brewing in the northern Coral Sea.

As 110 fires continue to burn around the state, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned it could be three or four days before relief arrives, with no significant rain on the horizon in central Queensland.

But thunderstorms without rain are a very real possibility, which could mean an increased chance of fires started by dry lightning.

Read the ABC News story - “Queensland fires could see heat, dry lightning and potential tropical cyclone add to state's problems.”

Queensland weather: Tropical Cyclone Linda downgraded as system tracks toward coast

Tropical Cyclone Linda has been downgraded to a subtropical low, but south-east Queensland residents are still bracing for gale-force winds, abnormally high tides and dangerous surf as the system continues to approach the coast.

Linda developed from a tropical low in the Coral Sea about 3:00pm AEST on Tuesday, despite the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) earlier saying a cyclone system was unlikely.

But by 10:00am on Wednesday, the BOM said Linda was no more.

Although the system is not expected to cross the coast, senior forecaster Rick Threlfall said it would still pack a punch.

Read the ABC News story - “Queensland weather: Tropical Cyclone Linda downgraded as system tracks toward coast.”

'Everyone is under great threat': Call for cyclone-like categories for heatwaves

Heatwaves cause more deaths in Australia than all other natural hazards combined, so authorities should consider a cyclone-like rating system to help people prepare for hot spells, a risk researcher says.

While the Bureau of Meteorology has developed its own system to rank heatwaves, there's still scope to complement it with ratings similar to those used to warn about cyclone intensity, said Thomas Loridan, a lead scientist with research centre Risk Frontiers.

Dr Loridan said the public generally understood the relative threat posed by a category 1 tropical cyclone compared with a category 4 or 5 severe storm, as well as different levels of fire danger.

"When you hear warnings about tropical cyclones or bushfires, it's scary," he said. "But when you hear a warning for a heatwave over the weekend, you tend to take it a bit more lightly."

Read Peter Hannam’s story in the Melbourne Age - “'Everyone is under great threat': Call for cyclone-like categories for heatwaves.”