Get set for more ferocious bushfires in NSW, report says

Get set for more ferocious bushfires in NSW, report says

20 October 2014

Australia: — Australia will need to double the number of professional firefighters within two decades as fire seasons become longer and more ferocious, the Climate Council warns.

The council’s report, Be Prepared: Climate Change and the NSW Bushfire Threat, has found that extreme fire weather in NSW has increased during the past 30 years.

Report author Professor Lesley Hughes said: “2013 was Australia’s hottest year on record and last summer was the driest in Sydney for 27 years.”

The NSW bushfire season is starting earlier and lasting longer as the climate continues to warm, the report says.

“The concept of a ‘normal’ bushfire season is rapidly changing as bushfires continue to increase in number, burn for longer, and affect larger areas,” Prof Hughes said.

He said greenhouse gas emissions must be cut rapidly to reduce the risk of even more frequent and severe extreme weather events.

Cost of major NSW bushfires

1993-94: $215m

Four deaths, 206 houses, 800,000ha

North coast, south coast, Hunter, Blue Mountains and Sydney

2013: $183.4m (early figure)

Two deaths, 14,500 stock, 279 houses, 768,000ha

Coonabarabran, Yass, Cooma, Shoalhaven, Jugiong, Gundaroo, Blue Mountains, Port Stephens, Lake Munmorah, Hunter, Hawkesbury

1984-85: $179m

Five deaths, 40,000 stock, 3,500,000ha

Western Division

2001-02: $131m

109 houses, 744,000ha

Greater Sydney, Hunter, North Coast, Mid-north coast, Northern and central tablelands

1990-91: $54m

Two deaths, 14 houses

Baulkham Hills, Gosford, Wyong and Lake Macquarie

Source: Climate Council

24. November 2017/by GFMCadmin