Fires
Weather and strong winds caused the spread of two major fires in Australia, and turned them into a "massive fire", while meteorologists warned that "the worst is coming."
There were fears over the past few days of the spread of fire across the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria and reaching the snowy mountains.
Meteorological forecasts indicate further warming with strong winds associated with lightning and drought.
In southern Australia, firefighters are also fighting heavy fires that have broken out on the Kangaroo Island.
Local authorities have asked residents in several areas of New South Wales and South Australia to leave their homes exposed to flames.
Tens of thousands participated in demonstrations across Australia Friday to protest the government's response to climate change and to raise awareness of its devastating effects on the country.
Demonstrations in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and the government demanded that Prime Minister Scott Morrison take swift action to stop the use of fossil fuels.
There is a risk that high temperatures will return to massive forest fires that have been sweeping large parts of Australia for weeks.
Strong winds could cause fires to spread quickly and unexpectedly at the end of this week.
The fires reached the south of the snowy mountains after the merger of three fires that broke out in neighboring areas simultaneously earlier this week.
The area of the fires is about 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres).
A number of small fires that broke out due to lightning strikes have merged and expanded, said Anthony Clark, spokesman for the New South Wales firefighting system.
"This is a big challenge for firefighters," he added. "When fires merge, their size grows and their surroundings increase and are difficult to control."
The fires in New South Wales have destroyed about 1,000 homes since the start of the new year, and there are more than 150 forest fires.
The situation is equally dangerous in the southern areas of Victoria.
Authorities in Victoria issued several warning messages, and demanded that residents evacuate the area before the severity of the situation could worsen.
What made the task more difficult for the fire crews, was that the planes could not work at night due to the darkness.
What happened on the kangaroo island
Fires in the forests isolated the largest city on the island in southern Australia, and the conditions are getting worse due to the bad weather in the region about a week ago.
The strong winds caused the fire, which resulted in the isolation of King Scott, and the closure of roads leading to it.
The fires have so far destroyed more than 150,000 hectares of forest on the island, which is famous for its unique environment and rich wildlife.
More than 27,000 people have been killed in the fires that have broken out in Australia since last September.
Firefighting regiments from the United States, Canada, and New Zealand are contributing to massive firefighting efforts, and to assisting exhausted Australian firefighters.
Firefighters have severe difficulties dealing with fires due to air pollution and high temperatures to over 40 degrees Celsius.
The fires also killed hundreds of millions of animals, including 25,000 koalas, which died when the fires ravaged the Kangaroo Island last week.
The Australian Meteorological Office said 2019 was the hottest and drier year the country is experiencing due to climate change.
Source:bbc
