Australia: Area five times larger than the Amazon has burned, homes destroyed, people dying

(Patria) - Forest fires in Australia began in August 2019 and are still raging across the continent. Twelve people have lost their lives so far, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. Thousands of people have been evacuated, and air pollution is at its highest since 2003.

The situation worsened on New Year's Eve when the fire spread to the town of Cobargo, 400 kilometres from Sydney. The fire engulfed homes in the middle of the night, and further south in the state of Victoria, 4,000 people had to leave their homes and seek safety on the beach in the town of Mallacoota. Another 4,000 people remained in shelters, writes New Scientist.
All those on the beach in Victoria were advised by authorities to enter the water if the fires approached. A similar warning was given to people on the coast of New South Wales, where people also left their homes to flee to the beach.

People on the beach in Mallacoota posted on social media that they could clearly hear the fire devouring everything in its path and that the smoke was so thick it turned day into night. The fires have consumed 200,000 hectares of land in that part of Australia.

The fire situation is being exacerbated by strong winds, and on Tuesday temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius. Because of this, traditional New Year's Eve fireworks displays across Australia were cancelled, including the one in the capital, Canberra. However, despite a petition to cancel the famous Sydney display, it went ahead.

Smoke from the Australian fires has also drifted over New Zealand, where the sky has turned a dark orange colour. People report smelling smoke, but no one has yet complained of serious respiratory problems. Authorities have not yet issued any health warnings, and teams of New Zealand firefighters have gone to help their Australian colleagues.