User:Aoziwe/sandbox/201920bfslead

The 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season commenced with serious uncontrolled fires in June 2019. Hundreds of fires, including s, have been, or still are burning, mainly in the south east of the continent.

, fires this season have burned an estimated 18.6 e6ha, destroyed over 5,900 buildings (including 2,779 homes) and killed at least 30 people. An estimated one billion animals have been killed and some endangered species may be driven to extinction. Air quality has dropped to hazardous levels. The cost of dealing with the bushires is expected to exceed the $4.4 billion of the 2009 Black Saturday fires, and tourism sector revenues have fallen more than $1 billion. By 7 January 2020, the smoke had moved approximately 11000 km across the South Pacific Ocean to Chile and Argentina. As of 2 January 2020, NASA estimated that 306 e6t of CO$2$ had been emitted.

From September 2019 fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales. In eastern and north-eastern Victoria large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before the fires emerged from the forests in late December. Multiple states of emergency have been declared across New South Wales  and Victoria. Reinforcements from all over Australia were called in to assist fighting the fires and relieve exhausted local crews in New South Wales. The Australian Defence Force was mobilised to provide air support to the firefighting effort, and to provide manpower and logistical support. Firefighters and equipment from New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and the United States, among others, helped fight the fires, especially in New South Wales.

There has been considerable debate regarding the underlying cause of the intensity and scale of the fires, including the role of fire management practices and climate change, and has attracted significant international attention. Politicians have received very mixed receptions when visiting areas devastated by the fires. Many millions of dollars has been donated by the public at large, international organisations, public figures and celebrities for victim relief and wildlife recovery. Convoys of donated food, clothing and livestock feed have been sent to affected areas.

Overview
From September 2019 fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales, such as the North Coast, Mid North Coast, the Hunter Region, the Hawkesbury and the Wollondilly in Sydney's far west, the Blue Mountains, Illawarra and the South Coast, Riverina and Snowy Mountains with more than 100 fires burnt across the state. In eastern and north-eastern Victoria large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before the fires emerged from the forests in late December, taking lives, threatening many towns and isolating Corryong and Mallacoota. A state of disaster was declared for East Gippsland. Significant fires occurred in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Moderately affected areas were south-eastern Queensland and areas of south-western Western Australia, with a few areas in Tasmania and the ACT being mildly impacted.

Whereas these bushfires are regarded by the NSW Rural Fire Service as the worst bushfire season in memory for that state, the 1974 bushfires were nationally much larger consuming 117 e6ha. However, due to their lower intensity and remote location, the 1974 fires caused around $5 million (about $36.5 million in 2020 ) in damages. In December 2019 the New South Wales Government declared a state of emergency after record-breaking temperatures and prolonged drought exacerbated the bushfires.

On 11 November the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) was sending in a large contingent of up to 300 firefighters and support staff to assist. By mid-November 2019, more than 100 firefighters were sent from Western Australia. Contingents were also sent from South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

On 12 November 2019, catastrophic fire danger was declared in the Greater Sydney region for the first time since the introduction of this level in 2009 and a total fire ban was in place for seven regions, including Greater Sydney. The Illawarra and Greater Hunter areas also experienced catastrophic fire dangers, and so did other parts of the state, including the already fire ravaged parts of northern New South Wales. The political ramifications of the fire season have been significant. A decision by the New South Wales Government to cut funding to fire services based on budget estimates, as well as a holiday taken by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, during a period in which two volunteer firefighters died, and his perceived apathy towards the situation, resulted in controversy.

, 18.626 e6ha was burnt or is burning across all Australian states and territories. Ecologists from The University of Sydney estimated 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles were lost since September with concerns entire species of plants and animals may have been wiped out by bushfire, later expanded to more than a billion.

Since the start of the season, the ongoing bushfires have destroyed 2,176 homes, as well as 48 facilities and more than 2,000 outbuildings in New South Wales alone. Twenty people were confirmed to have been killed in New South Wales since October. The latest fatality was reported on 5 January 2020 following the death of a man in Batlow.

In New South Wales, the fires had burnt through more land than any other blazes in the past 25 years, in addition to be being the state's worst bushfire season on record. NSW also experienced the longest continuously burning bushfire complex in Australia's history, having burnt more than 4 e6ha, with 70 m flames being reported. In comparison, the 2018 California wildfires consumed 800000 ha and the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires burnt 900000 ha of land.

Due to safety concerns and significant public pressure, New Year's Eve fireworks displays were cancelled across New South Wales including highly popular events at Campbelltown, Liverpool, Parramatta, and across Sydney's Northern Beaches, and as well in the nation's capital of Canberra. As temperatures reached 49 C, the New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian called a fresh seven-day state of emergency with effect from 9am on 3 January 2020.