INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2019

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Australian Bushfire
Season (2019-20)

(Southeast Coast, Satellite)

#2

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2019–20 AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE SEASON
(2nd Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season or Black Summer was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, was considered a megafire. Exceptionally dry conditions, a lack of soil moisture, and early fires in Central Queensland led to an early start to the bushfire season, beginning in June 2019. Hundreds of fires burnt, mainly in the southeast of the country, until May 2020. The most severe fires peaked from December 2019 to January 2020.

The fires burnt an estimated 24.3 million hectares (243,000 square kilometres), destroyed over 3,000 buildings (including 2,779 homes), and killed at least 34 people. It was claimed that three billion terrestrial vertebrates – the vast majority being reptiles – were affected and some endangered species were believed to be driven to extinction. The cost of dealing with the bushfires was expected to exceed the A$4.4 billion of the 2009 Black Saturday fires, and tourism sector revenues fell by more than A$1 billion. Economists estimated the bushfires – Australia’s costliest natural disaster in history – may have cost over A$78–88 billion in property damage and economic losses. Nearly 80% of Australians were affected by the bushfires in some way. At its peak, air quality dropped to hazardous levels in all southern and eastern states, and smoke had been moving upwards of 11,000 kilometres (6,800 mi) across the South Pacific Ocean, impacting weather conditions in other continents. Satellite data estimated the carbon emissions from the fires to be around 715 million tons, surpassing Australia’s normal annual bushfire and fossil fuel emissions by around 80%.

From September 2019 to March 2020, fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales (NSW). In eastern and north-eastern Victoria, large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before the fires emerged from the forests in late December. Multiple states of emergency were declared across NSW, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. Reinforcements from all over Australia were called in to assist fighting the fires and relieve exhausted local crews in NSW. The Australian Defence Force was mobilised to provide air support to the firefighting effort and to provide manpower and logistical support. Firefighters, supplies and equipment from Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States, among others, helped fight the fires. An air tanker and two helicopters crashed during operations, killing three crew members. Two fire trucks were caught in fatal accidents, killing three firefighters.

By 4 March 2020, all fires in NSW had been extinguished completely (to the point where there were no fires in the state for the first time since July 2019), and the Victoria fires had all been contained. The last fire of the season occurred in Lake Clifton, Western Australia, in early May.

There has been considerable debate regarding the underlying cause of the intensity and scale of the fires, including the role of fire management practices and climate change, which during the peak of the crisis attracted significant international attention, despite previous Australian fires burning much larger areas (1974–75) or killing more people (2008–09). Politicians visiting fire impacted areas received mixed responses, in particular Prime Minister Scott Morrison. An estimated A$500 million was donated by the public at large, international organisations, public figures and celebrities for victim relief and wildlife recovery. Convoys of donated food, clothing and livestock feed were sent to affected areas.

(Alleged) Causes

Climate change

Climate and fire experts agree that climate change is a factor known to result in increased fire frequency and intensity in south east Australia, and although it should not be considered as the sole cause of the 2019–20 Australian fires, climate change is considered very likely to have contributed to the unprecedented extent and severity of the fires.

Australian scientific organisations, including the CSIRO clearly acknowledged the role of climate change and record drought in the unprecedented bushfire season. The Australian Academy of Science stated “The scientific evidence base shows that as the world warms due to human induced climate change, we experience an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.”

The crisis has led to calls for more action to combat climate change. In December 2019, Australia had been ranked worst in terms of policy, and sixth worst overall, out of 57 countries assessed on the Climate Change Performance Index, with the Morrison government labelled “an increasingly regressive force.” Originally downplaying the role of climate change in causing the fires, Prime Minister Morrison eventually conceded that climate change was one of “many factors” involved and added that Australia was “playing its part” in the international effort against climate change. That said, the Morrison government has received some criticism on its 2030 emission reduction targets. Several members of the governing Liberal Party were criticised internationally for climate change denial, with backbencher Craig Kelly called “disgraceful” during an interview with the hosts of Good Morning Britain for denying any link between climate change and the fires, and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation receiving “angry” feedback from listeners after airing an interview in which former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott said the world was “in the grip of a climate cult.” Prior to the worst phases of the bushfires, in an interview in November 2019, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the party had struggled with the issue of climate change denial for more than a decade because it had become an issue of “identity” rather than fact, and criticised News Corporation for being a “long- time promoter” of climate denialism. The chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia said bushfire preparations had been “stymied” by the federal government, because “there are people within government who firmly believe there is no such thing as climate change or that human beings don’t have an impact upon it, and they are adamant that no extra work or extra effort should ever happen because they don’t believe in climate change.”

The NSW Bushfire Inquiry into the causes of the fires published their findings in July 2020. The Inquiry found that climate change played a major role in the summer’s fires.

Exaggerated extent of arson

The Guardian reported “Bot and troll accounts are involved in a ‘disinformation campaign’ exaggerating the role of arson in Australia’s bushfire disaster, social media analysis suggests… The false claims are, in some cases, used to undermine the link between the current bushfires and the longer, more intense fire seasons brought about by climate change.” The report cited a study by Queensland University of Technology senior lecturer on social network analysis Dr Timothy Graham, who examined content published on the #arsonemergency hashtag on Twitter. Giovanni Torre wrote for The Telegraph that “Australia’s bushfire crisis has led to what appears to be a deliberate misinformation campaign started by climate-change deniers claiming arson is the primary cause of the ongoing fires…”

Social media accounts, including Donald Trump Jr’s Twitter account, circulated the false claim that 183 people had been arrested for arson during the Australian fire crisis…” In 2021, the Australian Press Council determined the news report that 183 arsonists had been arrested “was not misleading”. 183 people were subject to legal action, but only 24 for “deliberately-lit bushfires”. An opinion piece for The Conversation website stated “In the first week of 2020, hashtag #ArsonEmergency became the focal point of a new online narrative surrounding the bushfire crisis. The message: the cause is arson, not climate change. Police and bushfire services (and some journalists) have contradicted this claim […] We’ve observed both troll and bot accounts spouting disinformation regarding the bushfires on Twitter.” The article also argued that a disinformation was underway to downplay the role of climate change in causing the fires. The vice.com website wrote “Research conducted by the Queensland University of Technology showed that Twitter accounts with the characteristics of bots or trolls were spreading disinformation about the responsibility of arsonists and Greens.” The Guardian accused News Corp of furthering arson disinformation.

RMIT’s FactCheck (https://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck) found no evidence to support the claims of arson being a major factor in the bushfires.

Source: Wikipedia

2019–20 Australian Bushfire Season Statistics

Dates(s):	June 2019–May 2020
Burned Area:	Approx. 243,000 square kilometres
Cost:	$920 million–$3.65 billion AUD
Cause:	Lightning strikes (including dry lightning and fire lightning), Discarded cigarette butts, Alleged arson, Australian Defence Force (ADF) mishap
Buildings Destroyed:	9,352 (3,500 homes, 5,852 outbuildings)
Deaths:	34 direct, 445 indirect (smoke inhalation)