Glaciers in New Zealand have turned a caramel colour from bushfire ash blown across from Australia, 1 January 2020. Photo: Fabulousmonster @Rachelhatesit / Twitter

New Zealand glaciers turn brown from Australian bushfires’ smoke, ash and dust – May increase glacier melt in 2020 by 30 percent

By Eleanor Ainge Roy 1 January 2020 WANAKA (The Guardian) – Snow and glaciers in New Zealand have turned brown after being exposed to dust from the Australian bushfires, with one expert saying the incident could increase glacier melt this season by as much as 30 percent. On Wednesday many parts of the South Island woke […]

A helicopter carries water through smoky skies as it flies near the town of Bilpin, located west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, on Sunday, 29 December 2019. Photo: Bloomberg

Global apathy toward the fires in Australia is a scary portent for the future

By David Wallace-Wells 31 December 2019 (New York magazine) – Right now, on the outskirts of a hyper modern first world megapolis, at the end of a year in which the public seemed finally to wake up to the dramatic threat from global warming, a climate disaster of unimaginable horror has been unfolding for almost two […]

A kangaroo rushes past a burning house on 31 December 2019 in Conjola, on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Photo: Matthew Abbott / The New York Times / Redux / Eyevine

Australia authorities plead for last-ditch evacuation, with terrible fire conditions ahead

By Ben Smee 3 January 2020 (The Guardian) – Australian authorities have made a final plea for people to flee bushfire-affected areas in three states before the onset of extreme conditions so dangerous that firefighters may be unable to defend entire towns. On Friday, authorities in New South Wales urged people still in a 14,000 […]

The water at Balmoral beach in New South Wales has turned black after Australia's recent deadly bushfires, 9 December 2019. Local woman Imogen Brennan shared videos of the beach on social media. Video: Imogen Brennan / BBC

Video: Bushfire ash washes up on Australian beach

24 December 2019 (news.com.au) — Ash and burned debris from trees washed up on beaches on the New South Wales south coast as weeks-old bushfires burned on Thursday, 24 December 2019. Two major uncontained bushfires had threatened coastal communities and forced evacuations in the area. The Currowan Fire had burned over 200,00 hectares since breaking […]

RFS volunteers and NSW Fire and Rescue officers fight a bushfire encroaching on properties near Termeil, New South Wales, Australia, on Tuesday, 3 December 2019. Photo: Reuters

“Mega fire” near Sydney may burn for weeks as people struggle to breathe – “We cannot stop these fires, they will just keep burning until conditions ease”

By Lidia Kelly 6 December 2019 MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A giant bushfire on the edge of Sydney, which has blanketed the city in smoke causing a spike in respiratory illnesses and the cancellation of outdoor sports, will take weeks to control but will not be extinguished without heavy rains, firefighters said. Thousands of weary firefighters, […]

This animation depicts the abundance and direction of black carbon blowing through the atmosphere from 1 November 2019 to 18 November 2019. The data for the animation come from the GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model, which assimilates information from satellite, aircraft, and ground-based observing systems. Video: Joshua Stevens / NASA Earth Observatory

Smoke plumes from Australia bushfires crossing oceans

By Michael Carlowicz and Adam Voiland 21 November 2019 (NASA) – Three weeks into November 2019, springtime bush fires continued to blaze across southern and eastern Australian states. As of November 20, government agencies counted 45 fires in South Australia and 49 in New South Wales, and dangerously dry and windy weather was fanning flames […]

Aerial view of smoke from bushfires blanketing mountain ranges, as seen during a commercial flight over northern New South Wales, 16 November 2019. Photo: Tracy Nearmy / Reuters

Devastating bushfire conditions to worsen in Australia – “Until we get significant rainfall, the fires will not go out”

By Lidia Kelly 17 November 2019 MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rising temperatures, lightning strikes and erratic winds are set to fan wildfires in Australia in the week ahead, officials said on Sunday, with emergency crews already working day and night to contain more than 130 blazes. The state of New South Wales, where 367 homes have […]

Smog blankets India’s capital Delhi, 14 November 2019. Photo: Arshad R. Zargar / CBS

Dangerous air pollution in India forces Delhi schools to close for 2nd time in 2 weeks – “I cannot play outside because the air is too toxic to breathe”

DELHI, 15 November 2019 (CBS News) – The air pollution in India’s capital got so bad again this week that the government was forced to close schools. It was the second time in two weeks. The air has been choked with a concentration of noxious pollutants about 10-times higher than what’s considered safe by the […]

Satellite view of smoke from wildfires in New South Wales, Australia, 6 November 2019 - 14 November 2019. Photo: NASA EISDIS Worldview

Another total fire ban in place for Sydney as death toll rises to four – “You haven’t had bushfires like these bushfires before”

By Helen Pitt, Lisa Visentin, Laura Chung, Jenny Noyes, and Sally Rawsthorne 14 November 2019 (The Sydney Morning Herald) – A total fire ban is in place in Sydney and seven areas across the state today, as the death toll from NSW bushfires has climbed to four and two men were charged over lighting fires […]

Map of air pollution in India showing Air Quality Index meters maxed at 999 on 3 November 2019. Graphic: AQICN

India air pollution deteriorates to “hazardous” rating – “Pollution has reached unbearable levels across North India”

3 November 2019 (BBC News) – Air pollution in the north of India has “reached unbearable levels,” the capital Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvid Kejriwal says. In many areas of Delhi air quality deteriorated into the “hazardous” category on Sunday with the potential to cause respiratory illnesses. Authorities have urged people to stay inside to protect […]

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