Numerous bushfires in New South Wales, Australia are currently threatening communities near Sydney. View an interactive map of wildfire locations and warnings via streaming data from MODIS and other sources.
November 29, 2015
By Jimmy Ellingham
A change in the weather (click here) has given firefighters battling a blaze in rural Marlborough a slight reprieve today.
The inferno to the north of the Wairau River, in the Waikakaho Valley, has been burning since Wednesday.
It's engulfing about 450ha, but that's remained stable for a few days.
Rob Hands, incident controller from the National Rural Fire Authority's national incident management team, said weather conditions had been "horrible" until now.
Strong, dry and hot northwesterly winds were fanning the blaze but today he said a cooler southeast change was helping, allowing firefighters to reach areas previously off limits....
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November 26, 2015
By Colin Packha
Fourteen bushfires (click here) burning across southern Australia have killed two people, thousands of animals, and destroyed 16 homes, and authorities on Thursday said they feared the toll could rise.
The fires, which stretch across 210 kms (130 miles), broke out on Wednesday in heatwave conditions and quickly burnt across farmlands, forcing residents to flee and others to frantically try and save their homes and livestock.
Emergency workers said that 60 percent of the fires were now under control.
"It was just the intensity of the fire and the speed. We tried to put it out. You just couldn't put it out," farmer John Lush told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"We've got a big machinery shed...and the (roof) gutters of that are 25 feet (eight metres) off the ground and the flames were coming over the top of that shed, so it was just horrific," said Lush.
A 56-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man died in separate fires. South Australia State Premier Jay Weatherill said 30 people were being treated for various injuries...
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Everyone told them not to do it. The Rainforests were vital to providing benevolence to climate, but, Indonesia is among the most corrupt countries in the world and now their land is being destroyed because of that corruption.
Uncontrolled destruction is raging across Asia. (click here)
November 10, 2015
By Laura Glenister
Indonesian forest fires – started to clear land for palm oil and paper products – have escalated into one of the biggest environmental disasters in years. Started in the peatland forests (peat is pure carbon fuel) of Kalimantan and Sumatra, these man-made fires have produced a wealth of toxic fumes and smog. This has engulfed the once beautiful country, and fires continue to destroy a host of natural habitats....
There are probably people dead as well. Certainly their tourism will be lost.
...They have also affected the everyday lives of people not just in Indonesia, where vulnerable groups are already being evacuated, but across neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. Events have been cancelled in both countries, and they have also reported school closures and transportation disruptions. Global warming has also been dramatically impacted, with Greenpeace warning that the fires are on track to produce more carbon emissions than the total annual UK output....
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Indonesian Wildfires being called a crime against humanity (click here)
26 October 2015
By Kate Lamb
Raging forest fires (click here) across Indonesia are thought to be responsible for up to half a million cases of respiratory infections, with the resultant haze covering parts of Malaysia and Singapore now being described as a “crime against humanity”.
Tens of thousands of hectares of forest have been alight for more than two months as a result of slash and burn – the fastest and quickest way to clear land for new plantations.
Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil and fires are frequently intentionally lit to clear the land with the resulting haze an annual headache.
But this year a prolonged dry season and the impact of El Niño have made the situation far worse, with one estimate that daily emissions from the fires have surpassed the average daily emissions of the entire US economy.
The fires have caused the air to turn a toxic sepia colour in the worst hit areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan, where levels of the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) have pushed toward 2,000. Anything above 300 is considered hazardous.
Endangered wildlife such as orangutans have also been forced to flee the forests because of the fires....
