They say, nature has a remedy for all; but what is lesser said is- if it can nurture, then nature equally possesses the power to devastate. Had humans always acknowledge the fact, we would never be fighting with the ill implications of global warming. Talking about this severe environmental issue, the last days of passed December has proved to be quite devastating for Australia. The country witnessed a horrifying bushfire which ironically was a result of poor weather conditions and will consequently add to the ill effects of global warming. December 20, 2019 recorded the onset of the blaze in the southeastern Australian state, New South Wales. A phenomenon commonly known as the Indian Ocean Dipole, which has meant a hot, dry spell, is majorly associated with the cause of this blaze. The phenomenon leads to a sudden rise in the oceanic water temperature in the western parts, which generally agitates wildfire due to increased evaporation levels. Unfortunately, this has affected the Australian flora and fauna to such an extent that the bushfires, so far, have burnt more than twice the area that in Amazon’s rainforests during 2019.
The latest estimates suggest that the bushfire crisis has scorched more than 14 million acres of land with 17 have gone missing in the fires, 8 reported as dead, and hundreds of thousands have evacuated to save their lives. Further, if looked at the temperature scores, 17th December, 2019 recorded a maximum of 40.9C in Australia that was broken a day later with a new record setting at 41.9C. Apart from the Indian Ocean Dipole, the ongoing drought conditions in Australia is seen as the real culprit behind the whole scenario. The records to date, indicating- 6th January 2020, are still witnessing the scorching flames in the forests of New South Wales which are targeted to stop from spreading on the first hand, rather than to put out the areas already burnt. This indicates the severity of the wildfire, as a result of which Australian military, police, and navy, all three are contributing to rescue the lives of people and animals. The US, Canada, and New Zealand too have extended their helping hands by deploying their firefighters in the rescue and evacuation operations.
The fire will stop with these collaborative and immediate efforts soon, but the forthcoming disaster as a result of already raised global warming has already set high benchmarks for humanity in terms of its strive for survival. The vicious circle of nature has already cycled its initial phase which predominantly started on account of the burning temperatures and the drought like conditions. Adding to this, the carbon emissions in this wildfire which, so far has failed to come to an end and is still lasting- will certainly heat up the planet a little more. It is high time, we are ignoring the signs of Mother Nature which summons to the upcoming disasters waiting for our way. This surely is unstoppable now, but could at least, be postponed a bit more. All of which require our synchronized efforts to save the planet and ultimately save humanity.
