The smoke from a continent scale fire disaster has crossed the sea -- New Zealand Twitter is flooded with images of orange skies above the South Island, and the smoke shows clearly in this view from space... 1/N 
Like this one 2/N
Or this one, from Dunedin photographer @Clive_Copeman 3/N
@Clive_Copeman To set the scale, the distance between the Australian coast and the South Island of New Zealand is roughly the same as between London and Moscow (H/T Brandon Clarke @kiwibardy) 4/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy The stunning images from space (and you'll be seeing a lot of them as the coverage of the fires continues) are taken by the Japanese Himawari satellite, which is in an "geostationary" orbit, keeping it in a fixed position above the earth 5/N himawari8.nict.go.jp
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy In an effort to support the Australian response, the Japanese have switched the spacecraft to a faster cadence, taking pictures every 2.5 minutes 6/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy There is no sensible doubt that the magnitude of this disaster is driven by climate change: Australia has always had fires, but climate change makes it hotter and drier, nudging more places above the tipping point on which fire will take hold on more days of the year 7/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy Climate change is the unintended consequences of human ingenuity -- we summon light at the flick of a switch, cross continents in a day, and the world's knowledge is at our fingertips; billions of people have access to miracles emperors of the past could never command 8/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy But in fairy stories and fables, miracles often come at a price -- and our computers, our steel refineries, and our planes dump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the key "greenhouse gas" that is warming the planet. 9/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy The warming is small -- weather forecasts are in Celsius or Fahrenheit, but the universe thinks in Kelvins; degrees above absolute zero. So far average temperatures have moved 1 degree Celsius, or 1 Kelvin 10/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy A 25 Celsius day is 298 Kelvins, which puts the global change in temperature we have seen so far at just over 1 part in 300. But ecosystems are finely balanced, and that extra degree means more hot days, more fires, more heatwaves, more melting ice. 11/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy And if nothing happens to change our "carbon" emissions from "business as usual" it is only going to get worse. 12/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy But there's hope in these pictures. (There's always hope, right?) Our ability to take pictures from space, our ability to change the world, has given us tools to understand the climate system and conceive of technologies that will let us to walk more lightly on the earth 13/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy But the real challenge is not scientific: it is social and political. We know what we need to do, and we can figure out how to do it. But we need to make it happen. 14/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy If you are looking for New Year's Resolutions, try some of these. Drive petrol powered cars less. Ride a bike more. Get solar panels (in most places it will save you money). Think carefully about the meat you eat and where it comes from. Consume thoughtfully. Fly less 15/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy And this is the big one: elect politicians who are serious about climate, and expect them to follow through on their promises. 16/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy And one last thing: if you have been telling friends and family and yourself that climate change is nothing to worry about. Take a moment. Take a deep breath. Think again. It's hard to take a step back. 17/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy And there are plenty of people who'll tell you that it's all a mistake, or a con. And these people will always be with us: anyone with a PhD can earn a tidy living as a climate skeptic, and news-sites can earn clicks from spreading ignorance as well as elucidation... 18/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy And, to be honest, this stuff isn't easy; there's no shame in getting it wrong when there people who profit from telling you not to worry. 19/N
@Clive_Copeman @kiwibardy But you should worry.
I'll close on this. Another photo from New Zealand. A tweep whose security lights came on at noon. Seems like a sign. Let's make this year a better one than the last. 20/20
I'll close on this. Another photo from New Zealand. A tweep whose security lights came on at noon. Seems like a sign. Let's make this year a better one than the last. 20/20
