Australia bushfires

This item appears on page 19 of the January 2020 issue.

A record number of bushfires occurred in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, in November, with more than 120 individual fires identified. As of press time, six people had been killed and more than 2.9 million acres had been burnt, including hundreds of homes.

Air pollution due to the fires caused hazardous conditions in Sydney and Adelaide in late November, with air quality reaching “hazardous” levels multiple times. Heat wave and drought conditions persisted in southern Australia at press time, keeping fire danger levels at “severe.”