Australia is on fire

Australia is on fire.

As of January 13, 7.3 million hectares across Australia has burnt or is currently on fire. In NSW alone, more than 1,500 homes have been destroyed as part of the 4.9 million hectares burned. Fires have been burning across every state since September, impacting the air quality on a national level and clouding its main cities with thick smoke. To give you an idea of what this means, Sydney’s air pollution rose to “11 times the hazardous level” in December. The smoke plumes are turning skies in the areas immediately affected by fire pitch black in the middle of the day, and turning the skies of Chile & NZ orange with ash.

The fires have released over 350 million metric tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, which is around ⅔ of Australia’s annual output - all before the end of January. Temperatures in Australia have continually broken temperature records this past December, with the average temperature nationwide above 40 degrees Celsius.

26 human lives have been lost with dozens more missing and many more under threat. An estimated 1.25 billion animals are dead, which doesn’t include insects. We can’t even begin to comprehend the ripple effect these fires will have on our planet.

It’s impossible to describe the level of catastrophic impact this national disaster is having. We are not even in the height of summer and dry, hot conditions are estimated to stretch out up to April. Our official bushfire season has not started and yet here we are, in apocalyptic conditions. These aren’t fires raging in deserted forests, these are fires that have cut off all roads to major cities, fires that have reached the water’s edge, fires raging in rainforests and deserts. Our home is on fire.

We are scared.

We are grieving. We are shaking with anger at the complete inaction of our government to take action against climate change, and poor leadership in the face of this disaster. We are heartbroken for our animals, our ecosystems, our Indigenous peoples whose cultural heartbeats have been destroyed. We are exhausted. We are running out of resources to battle these fires and to keep our people and animals alive.

And yet, we have seen immense community gathering on both local levels and internationally. Celeste Barber raised over 35 million dollars to donate towards the emergency relief. We’ve seen communities come together to pool resources, donate time, volunteer to fight fires, create animal pouches and mittens for our wildlife, offer their homes and support, and truly make a difference.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be contributing to the global conversation on climate change, sharing what we know, celebrating the activism and advocacy of those on the front line, and offering ways you, as individuals and as a collective, can take action. The time is now for climate action. The time is now for collective activism. The time is now for change.

If you’re financially able to donate to support the bushfire crisis, find a list of places to donate here. And we’ve included below further money-free ways to support the bushfire crisis.