As the Bushfire Royal Commission investigates the deadly “Black Summer” and how it could have been prevented, research from the Climate the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes (CLEX) and Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales shows how climate change may alter prescribed burning in the future across Australia.
As the Bushfire Royal Commission investigates the deadly “Black Summer” and how it could have been prevented, research from the Climate the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes (CLEX) and Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales shows how climate change may alter prescribed burning in the future across Australia.
Unexpectedly, it is not all bad news, but as the coming century progresses there are definitely changes ahead for our firefighters in Australia when it comes to preparing for a fire season, especially along the east coast of Australia.
Most prescribed burning along this densely populated coastal region takes place in March, April and May, when conditions are safest for hazard reduction efforts. In the future as climate change takes hold and conditions change, climate models show that the burning windows for these months decline over many regions. However, at the same time new burning windows open up from June to August and even into the early parts of September.
“Our research shows that, considering the whole year, the number of prescribed burning days along the east coast of Australia will remain the same and may even increase in some cases but the timing of the burning windows shifts,” said lead author Dr Giovanni Di Virgilio from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.
Read more at ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes (CLEX)
Photo Credit: PublicDomainImages via Pixabay
