The Australian fires are so bad that it’s reportedly the size of Manhattan… which is 59.1 square kilometer to be exact.
This has led to the temperature rising to 44 degrees in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, breaking a 80-year-old record.
The firefighters are trying to contain the fire, which has claimed the lives of half a billion animals and eight humans – while harming the environment more each day.
To put things into perspective, a person named Bodie Ashton started a Twitter thread, which addresses various aspects of this natural calamity.
He starts with numbers of casualties and the length of the affected area.
I want to give some perspective for people not from Australia.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
More Aussie land is currently burning than exists in the entire country of Belgium. The smoke is causing breathing problems in New Zealand, 2,000km away. Half a billion animals have been killed. Eight people are dead.
One-seventh of the state of Victoria is on fire. The fire front in the state of New South Wales is so long that, if you made it a straight line, it would stretch from Sydney to Afghanistan. The fires are being fought by volunteers.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
He then moves on to the Australian government’s negligence and unwillingness to discuss a matter so pressing nature. This includes the Australian PM’s holiday trip.
The Australian government refuses to discuss the fact that the NSW fires have now been burning for three months, and will still be burning in three months. Climate change is a “political issue” that shouldn’t be discussed at this time, apparently.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
Many of the volunteer firefighters are unemployed; their benefits have been suspended because, while they’re saving people and habitats and homes, they can’t apply for the requisite number of jobs per week the government expects them to to continue receiving benefits.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
The Australian Prime Minister, at the height of the crisis, went on holiday to Hawaii, which his office first denied and then insisted he was trying to get home, but it’s impossible to get flights from Honolulu to Sydney (???)
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
Fireworks in Adelaide – which should ideally not be taking place – caused another fire. This cost millions, the money which could have been spent on the people trying to contain the calamity.
Also, while the entire country faced catastrophic fire warnings (so no barbecues, people!), the cities all had fireworks displays. One, in Adelaide, very unsurprisingly caused a (thankfully limited) brush fire. Millions were spent on these. But not to pay the firefighters.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
Giving us an idea of the intensity of the bushfires, Bodie pointed out that they exceed even the one in Amazon.
It is true that Australia has bushfires every year, but the sheer scale of this event is unprecedented, as well as the fact that the fire season is now so long that typical preventative initiatives, such as backburning, are far too dangerous.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
The devastation in Australia right now FAR exceeds the Amazon fires or the California fires by MANY ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE, and there is no expectation that it will recede for at least several more months. In parts of Sydney, breathing the air is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
There were other points about temperature rise and the seriousness of the whole situation. You can read them here:
The average temperature across the entire country has been above 40C (105F). Australia is roughly the size of the contiguous United States. Imagine it being that temperature on average ANYWHERE in the country, from Denver to Boston, Seattle to New York.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
The devastation in Australia right now FAR exceeds the Amazon fires or the California fires by MANY ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE, and there is no expectation that it will recede for at least several more months. In parts of Sydney, breathing the air is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
So, if you were wondering why I keep yelling that @ScottMorrisonMP is a coward who must resign, this is why. He didn’t start this, no. But he is the prime minister who, in this moment of Armageddon, continues to insist that climate change is not worth talking about.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
