Thread by @MedicalScitech

#Sydney is threatened for the first time as 'catastrophic' #bushfires rage. 350 #koalas have been killed in blazes near #PortMacquarie.

📕 Read more: wef.ch/2X3gmLh

Until a few thousand years ago, an impressive megafauna roamed Australia. Whether those animals went extinct because of humans or past climate change is debated. New study shows that both probably contributed.
#megafauna #Pleistocene
nature.com/articles/s4146…

Australia’s bushfires have pumped out half a year's CO2 emissions
» weforum.org/agenda/2019/12…
The extreme weather has prompted renewed calls for #ClimateChange action by the Australian government, by targeting a 26% cut on its heavy dependence on coal for electricity generation.

Australian bushfires are so huge they're creating thunderstorms that start more fires
» weforum.org/agenda/2020/01…
Bushfires in Australia are now so big that they're generating their own weather, in the form of giant thunderstorms that start more fires, according to BoM in Victoria.

How to help Australia's unpaid firefighters battle the bushfire crisis
» mashable.com/article/austra…
"A big issue with the volunteer service is how long they can continue to do this as the season stretches into weeks & months," NSW RFS (70,000 volunteers) Peter Holding told ABC News.

Airbnb offers free emergency housing for people displaced by Australian bushfires
» mashable.com/article/airbnb…
The devastation left in the wake of the fires is unparalleled: 19 people have died, 1,365 homes in NSW have been burnt, and over 11 million acres have been destroyed.

And there are still three months of summer left...

🔎 Learn more about the bushfires: wef.ch/2tjVeG7 #AustraliaFires #ClimateChange

#ClimateChange has supercharged the #bushfirecrisis in #Australia

Haunting photo shows navy ship evacuating Australians trapped by fires
» mashable.com/article/austra…
In Earth's disrupted and still-changing climate — with atmospheric CO2 levels rising at historically and geologically unprecedented rates — dystopian scenes might become more common.

The #AustralianWildFires, the cause of smoke plume, are expected to ramp up over the hotter months

These satellite images put the catastrophe in terrifying context
» futurism.com/the-byte/austr…
#AustraliaIsOnFire in the midst of an environmental catastrophe, with raging #AustralianWildFires making parts of the nation look like a blood-red apocalyptic hellscape.

What you need to know about the Australia bushfires
» theverge.com/2020/1/3/21048…
“The reality is, this is a function of #ClimateChange — this extreme heat, these extreme conditions that are so volatile and are producing the types of intensity and early season burning in Australia”.

The California wildfires transfixed the world’s attention, but while the ones still burning uncontrolled in Australia have gotten some media attention outside the country, in general they have been treated as a scary, but not apocalyptic, local news story. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Devastated Pink donates $500,000 to Australia’s fire services as blaze rages out of control
» metro.co.uk/2020/01/04/dev…
More than 100 fires are still raging out of control in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The death toll has risen to 23, and half a billion animals.

@threadreaderapp unroll

Australia Arrests Dozens for Starting Bushfires on Purpose
» futurism.com/australia-arre…
Bots & trolls spread false arson claims in Australian fires ‘disinformation campaign’. Tweets exaggerating the role of arson are being used to undermine the link btw. #bushfires & #ClimateChange.

https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1213536729526919170

The world is with Australia.

📕 Read more: wef.ch/2sqUC1i #environment #australia

Thousands of ancient Aboriginal sites probably damaged in Australian fires
» nature.com/articles/d4158…
Soot may've damaged rock art in the Blue Mountains, similar to stencils in Red Hands Cave. Sites are rich in cultural history, but the blazes might also reveal some unknown ones.