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Heat grips Australia’s east, dozens of bushfires rage
Several bushfires raging along Australia’s east coast may worsen as a severe heatwave continues, fire officials have warned.
After two years of rains and floods, a return to warmer conditions has sparked New South Wales state’s worst fires since the 2019/2020 “Black Summer”.
A fire 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Sydney prompted the region’s first emergency fire warning in two years.
Firefighters reported battling flames that were 10-15m (49ft) high.
Residents in affected areas across New South Wales, Australia‘s most populous state, have been urged to evacuate, and some properties have been damaged.
Temperatures in some parts of the state also reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, the first time since January 2021.
According to fire officials, 33 fires were still burning across the state on Tuesday, with 10 of them out of control.
According to the NSW Rural Fire Service, the fires spread quickly due to strong winds.
“It’s going to be another tough day for firefighters and potentially even into tomorrow before we get some reprieve,” RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) of Australia also warned of the possibility of dry thunderstorms across eastern New South Wales, which could spark new fires.
RFS Inspector Ben Shepherd told that a number of other fires in western NSW were “likely to be problematic”.
The hot, dry weather is expected to last until Wednesday.
Eastern Australia has had three summers in a row of La Nia, with above-average rainfall causing widespread flooding.
Sydney experienced its wettest year on record in 2022.
However, the Bom said last week that La Nia was “likely nearing its end,” with a return to neutral conditions or even the hot and dry El Nio phenomenon expected in the southern hemisphere’s autumn.
The 2019-20 Black Summer fires, one of Australia’s worst-ever natural disasters, killed at least 33 people and an estimated 3 billion animals and birds.
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