what started the australia bushfires?
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The fires started in various ways: some by lightning, some by human actions, including arson. However, it's the climate conditions that provide ample fuel for the fires to grow and spread. Before the fires ignited, Australia was already enduring its hottest and driest year on record.
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While climate change is not the direct cause of the bushfires, scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to Australia's fires becoming more frequent and more intense.
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From September 2019 until March 2020, when the final fire was extinguished, Australia had one of the worst bush fires in history. 2019 had been the hottest record year for Australia, with the bushfire season starting in June 2019.
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In 2019–20, the fire season started early with drought affecting 95 percent of the state and persistent dry and warm conditions across the state. Twelve local government areas started the Bush Fire Danger Period two months early, on 1 August 2019, and nine more started on 17 August 2019.
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Hot, dry weather combined with ongoing drought and strong winds have created the perfect conditions for fire to spread quickly. Bushfires can originate from both human activity and natural causes - with lightning being the predominant natural source.
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New South Wales's Rural Fire Service map showed a large cluster of wildfires Thursday from south of Brisbane to south of Canberra, Australia's capital. ... More than 200 fires are burning across Victoria and New South Wales, the country's most populated areas.
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The letter "P" styled to look like a thumbtack pin. A stylized letter F. Australia's deadly bushfires sparked in September 2019 and have been blazing ever since. A prolonged drought that began in 2017 made this year's bushfire season more devastating than ever.
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At least 33 people have died in bushfires in Australia since the summer season began in October. The death toll is highest in NSW, where 25 people have been confirmed dead since October. Victoria has had five confirmed deaths and South Australia three.
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Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory While fires in other parts of the country are currently more severe, Queensland and other states have also been badly affected over the past several months. Fires in Queensland first began in September 2019.
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The wildfires in Australia have burned a massive expanse of land. ... That's 5,000 square miles (an area about the size of Connecticut), more than the area of land that burned during 2019's devastating Amazon rainforest fires and 80 times larger than the total area burned in the 2019 California wildfires.
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Australia's deadly bushfires sparked in September 2019 and have been blazing ever since. A prolonged drought that began in 2017 made this year's bushfire season more devastating than ever.
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Since September, at least 27 million acres of Australia have burned in one of the country's worst fire seasons on record. ... Australia's bushfires have released 400 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
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The forest fires in Australia that have been raging for more than four months, show no signs of ebbing. ... The fires seem to be both a natural disaster and man-made calamity. But if extreme weather is counted as being the result of human activities as well, the fires can be seen as purely a man-made disaster.
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About 12.35 million acres of land have burned across Australia, according to the Associated Press.
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Heather Wheeler, a foreign office minister, said last week: "Very regrettably, it is widely reported on social media that 75% of the fires were started by arsonists." Richard Drax, a Conservative MP repeated the figure in the House of Commons this week. He said: "In Australia 75% of fires are caused by arson."
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As fires continue to rip through Australia, some devastating numbers are emerging: At least 24 people killed. More than 15.6 million acres torched. Over 1,400 homes destroyed. And, according to one biodiversity expert's count, an estimated 1 billion animals killed.
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Australia's bushfires and the conditions behind them are alarming and unprecedented, but not unexpected. ... While many of the factors that are driving the vacillating patterns of temperature and rainfall are unique to Australia, other parts of the world may soon face their own volatile weather.