SYDNEY - Satellite pictures show the sheer scale of the unprecedented crisis, as flames and smoke continue to choke parts of the nation.
“Unprecedented”, “apocalyptic”. The language used to describe the intensity of the Australian bushfires can only do so much to encapsulate the sheer scale of devastation still being unleashed.
At least 27 people have been killed, almost 2,000 homes have been destroyed, and scientists estimate that more than one billion – yes, one billion – animals have died. Even that figure is said to be conservative and doesn’t include some groups, including bats, frogs and invertebrates. For some species, the catastrophe is feared to have resulted in total extinction.
An estimated 10.3m hectares of land has been burned. To put that in context, the UK’s total landmass is little more than 24m hectares.
“I can’t recall a situation where we’ve just had this much burning all at once over such a long period,” said Grant Williamson, a bushfire researcher at the University of Tasmania.
“It’s been scary knowing that so many communities are being affected, and simply the fact that when you’ve got this much fire at once there’s essentially no way to get on top of it until we get some significant rain.