Greenpeace’s condolences go out to those Australians who have lost loved ones and homes in the horrific bushfires which continue to rage out of control in Victoria.
Australia is in the midst of it’s worst natural disaster with the death toll from the bushfires reaching over 100. The fires have spread on the back of an unprecedented heatwave across southern Australia over the past two weeks, with temperatures reaching up to 47 degrees Celsius and staying over 40 degrees for days on end. Meanwhile, in the north of the country, torrential rain continues to cause widespread flooding, isolating towns and hundreds of homes.
Australia has always been vulnerable to extreme weather events and bush fire, and the past week has shown how devastating the force of nature can be.
As climate change continues to gather pace, Australia is at risk of more frequent drought, higher temperatures, more frequent and intense bushfires, as well as increased severity of cyclones and flooding. The tragic events of the past few days show just how serious the threat of climate change is for the community.
The unfortunate truth is that unless the world takes strong action on climate change immediately, natural disasters like the Victorian bushfires, and the floods in Queensland, will become more frequent events.
The scale of this tragedy should be a clarion call to politicians for the need to begin treating climate change as an emergency. The time has come to put politics aside. Urgent and dramatic action is required to cut greenhouse pollution if we are to have any hope of avoiding runaway global warming.
