Bushfires have caused significant damage across Australia since the start of September and concern is rising that the upcoming summer could further yield blazes thanks to frequent heat waves.
A drier-than-normal winter for parts of New South Wales and Queensland has allowed the yearly fire season to get off to a rapid start, according to News Corp Australia.
Despite recent firefighting efforts, 80 blazes continue to burn in Queensland and more than 50 others in New South Wales as of Tuesday evening, according to The Guardian.
In this Nov. 2018, photo released on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018, by the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service, a firefighter works on a fire ground at Deepwater, near Bundaberg, Australia. (QLD Fire and Emergency via AP)
Officials said the fast and furious start to the fire season in Queensland is the worst start to the season on record, according to BBC News.
Since the start of September, bushfires have destroyed at least 17 homes and damaged more than 60 other homes across the country. Agriculture has also been affected by the recent bushfires with vineyards and crops being burned to ash by the fast-moving fires.
More than 400 people remained in shelters due to evacuations as of Tuesday as hundreds of firefighters along with numerous helicopters and a 737 water tanker worked to contain the most dangerous blazes.
Some improvement in the weather is expected in the coming days as winds lessen, providing firefighters with a better opportunity to control bushes in both Queensland and New South Wales.
Satellite imagery released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, shows massive plumes of smoke in the Yuraygir National Park and Shark Creek as well as over the cities of Lismore and Grafton in Australia. (Photo/NOAA)
Winds are then forecast to increase again this weekend into next week, elevating the risk for new fires and fanning the flames of ongoing blazes.
Queensland premier, Anastasia Palaszczuk, cut short her trip to Switzerland to meet with the International Olympic Committee in order to attend to concerns over the ongoing bushfire emergency.
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Concern is also rising that the fast start to the fire season this year could ramp up even further during the upcoming summer. This scenario has a higher than normal likelihood of occurring due an ongoing warming event in the stratosphere above Antarctica.
A similar event in 1992 resulted in one of Australia's driest years on record according to ABC News Australia. The event was also linked to warmer-than-normal weather during the spring and summer months across southern and eastern Australia.
A potential hotter-than-normal summer on top of the already poor soil moisture conditions could set up large swaths of Australia for a significant fire season.
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