Australia Burning
07/01/13 05:42
We had a nice warm-up yesterday. Most of the snow has melted from the lawn. The high was 57 degrees. Not bad for early January in the northern Rockies. But the weather is like that around here. We get cold days and snow and then we get a few warm days and the snow melts. It was nowhere near a record. The record high for this time of year around here is the mid sixties. Still it was nice as we took down Christmas decorations and prepared for the next events at the church. After a wonderful Epiphany celebration we have lots of activities coming up and plenty of preparations.
Today’s forecast calls for slightly cooler temperatures, but still pretty nice. It is about 30 degrees out there right now and we should see a high in the upper forties. Still, it is winter in the plains and we have more storms and snow ahead before springtime comes. This break will allow us to wash our cars and catch up a bit, but it is too early to think about yard work around here.
What I am thinking about is the weather in Australia. They have been having temperatures in the forties, too. But they use the Celsius scale. The temperature in Hobart, in Tasmania, was a record-setting 41.8 on Saturday – that’s 107 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale. Tasmania is often cooler than the rest of the country. Located off of the southern coast, with nothing but ocean separating it from Antarctica, it can be a chilly place, but that hasn’t been the case this summer. Summer isn’t halfway over in Australia and already there are new records for temperatures, and for fires.
Firefighters are battling hundreds of blazes all across southern Australia and officials are warning of catastrophic conditions with high winds and more temperatures staying above 100 degrees (F) throughout the week. Authorities have warned all people staying in campgrounds to evacuate, regardless of their proximity to current fires. Lighting and arsonists can turn almost any place in the bush into a nightmare in a matter of minutes. Everyone in Australia is urged to have a bushfire plan and to be ready to leave home when notified. Australians know from experience that city neighborhoods are not immune from devastating fires.
In Tasmania, fires have already destroyed hundreds of homes and thousands of people are stranded by the blazes. There are more than 20 active fires burning in Tasmania, with entire areas cut off by road and people without electricity. Fires have burned more than 20,000 Hectares (49,000 acres) on the Tasman peninsula. The forecast doesn’t bring much of a promise of relief from the weather in the next week.
It is holiday season in Australia. Summer vacations are in full swing, and Tasmania is a great vacation destination – when it isn’t on fire. Among the stranded people are tourists. Boats have ben used to evacuate some people and other boats are being used to shuttle emergency supplies to remote and isolated areas on the peninsula.
The locals call it the “Tazzie Spirit.” It is a way of life that includes helping neighbors and working together. The friendliness of the people is an important part of the attraction of a visit to Tasmania, and it is a quality that is essential to survival now that the island state is so deeply threatened by fire.
The current hot temperatures are a product of unusual weather conditions. Many years, about this time, a monsoon, providing cloud cover and rain across northern Australia has not yet developed. The south, where it is normally dryer, is facing even more extremes this year because of the lack of moisture in the atmosphere and the lack of cooler temperatures to the north. The current heat wave isn’t the hottest ever experienced in Australia, but it definitely is the longest and hottest since 2001. There may be a few showers for Western Australia, but the rest of the nation is expected to be dry for the foreseeable weather. Residents of Tasmania will get a break with dropping temperatures, however, and that should aid firefighters and rescue personnel. The search is on for those who are missing – in some cases, forensic experts have to go from one burned-out house to the next looking for clues as to what happened to those who have been reported missing.
Half a world away, I stare at the computer well aware that there is little I can do but pray. The work of rescue and recovery will fall to others. We can participate through disaster funds made available through church partnerships, but the real work will fall to those who live there. The “Tazzie Spirit” will need to affect Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland as well. The fire season is far from over down under.
The forecast is for temperatures to top 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Sydney Tuesday. It is going to be a long, hot summer in Australia this year.
The debate about whether or not we are experiencing global climate change is over. The vast majority of scientists agree that changes are occurring and that the rate of change is higher than previously predicted. Climate changes are already having an effect on food and crop production and there are more devastating changes yet to come. When we visited Australia in 2006, many of the people we met there were surprised that there was even a debate about climate change in the United States. They had experienced enough changes to be convinced. The climate change doesn’t manifest itself in day-to-day temperature records, but it is becoming clear that there will have to be major changes for people in the new climate realities of our planet. Some of those changes are not going to be easy as is evidenced by the amount of resistance and political maneuvering to protect the status quo in terms of energy consumption, fuel sources and other human activities that have an impact on climate.
In the midst of all of this, perhaps we all would benefit from a dose of “Tazzie Spirit.” We’re going to need to be good at helping one another in the midst of crisis. There are more disasters on their way.
Today’s forecast calls for slightly cooler temperatures, but still pretty nice. It is about 30 degrees out there right now and we should see a high in the upper forties. Still, it is winter in the plains and we have more storms and snow ahead before springtime comes. This break will allow us to wash our cars and catch up a bit, but it is too early to think about yard work around here.
What I am thinking about is the weather in Australia. They have been having temperatures in the forties, too. But they use the Celsius scale. The temperature in Hobart, in Tasmania, was a record-setting 41.8 on Saturday – that’s 107 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale. Tasmania is often cooler than the rest of the country. Located off of the southern coast, with nothing but ocean separating it from Antarctica, it can be a chilly place, but that hasn’t been the case this summer. Summer isn’t halfway over in Australia and already there are new records for temperatures, and for fires.
Firefighters are battling hundreds of blazes all across southern Australia and officials are warning of catastrophic conditions with high winds and more temperatures staying above 100 degrees (F) throughout the week. Authorities have warned all people staying in campgrounds to evacuate, regardless of their proximity to current fires. Lighting and arsonists can turn almost any place in the bush into a nightmare in a matter of minutes. Everyone in Australia is urged to have a bushfire plan and to be ready to leave home when notified. Australians know from experience that city neighborhoods are not immune from devastating fires.
It is holiday season in Australia. Summer vacations are in full swing, and Tasmania is a great vacation destination – when it isn’t on fire. Among the stranded people are tourists. Boats have ben used to evacuate some people and other boats are being used to shuttle emergency supplies to remote and isolated areas on the peninsula.
The locals call it the “Tazzie Spirit.” It is a way of life that includes helping neighbors and working together. The friendliness of the people is an important part of the attraction of a visit to Tasmania, and it is a quality that is essential to survival now that the island state is so deeply threatened by fire.
Half a world away, I stare at the computer well aware that there is little I can do but pray. The work of rescue and recovery will fall to others. We can participate through disaster funds made available through church partnerships, but the real work will fall to those who live there. The “Tazzie Spirit” will need to affect Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland as well. The fire season is far from over down under.
The forecast is for temperatures to top 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Sydney Tuesday. It is going to be a long, hot summer in Australia this year.
The debate about whether or not we are experiencing global climate change is over. The vast majority of scientists agree that changes are occurring and that the rate of change is higher than previously predicted. Climate changes are already having an effect on food and crop production and there are more devastating changes yet to come. When we visited Australia in 2006, many of the people we met there were surprised that there was even a debate about climate change in the United States. They had experienced enough changes to be convinced. The climate change doesn’t manifest itself in day-to-day temperature records, but it is becoming clear that there will have to be major changes for people in the new climate realities of our planet. Some of those changes are not going to be easy as is evidenced by the amount of resistance and political maneuvering to protect the status quo in terms of energy consumption, fuel sources and other human activities that have an impact on climate.
In the midst of all of this, perhaps we all would benefit from a dose of “Tazzie Spirit.” We’re going to need to be good at helping one another in the midst of crisis. There are more disasters on their way.