New study reveals what's really behind Australia's worsening bushfires
Climate change is the main factor fuelling the increased size and ferocity of Australian bushfires, a new landmark report has found.
The CSIRO-led study, published in the journal Nature, said the average annual forest burned area in Australia increased 350 per cent in the past 32 years.
Factoring in the Black Summer fires of 2019, that figure swells to 800 per cent.
READ MORE: NSW RFS warns repeat of 'catastrophic season' coming soon
A total of 33 people lost their lives in the Black Summer fires which burned across five states: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Alex Ellinghausen/Sydney Morning Herald
CSIRO scientist Dr Pep Canadell said the research was one of the most extensive studies of its kind performed to date.
It measured eight drivers of fire activity including, climate, fuel accumulation, ignition and management (prescribed burning).
"Climate was the overwhelming factor driving fire-activity," Dr Canadell said.
"The results also suggest the frequency of forest megafires are likely to continue under future projected climate change."
Australia's mean temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius since 1910, and over the past 90 years, three of the four megafire years occurred after the year 2000.
A megafire year is defined as a year in which more than one million hectares of land is destroyed.
Three billion animals are estimated to have died and 24 million hectares of land was burnt in the 2019-2020 fires. CSIRO
In the Black Summer bushfires, 24 million hectares of land was burnt.
The study also said the traditional fire season had lengthened towards winter and autumn.
The research showed a five-fold increase in annual average burned area in winter and a three-fold increase in autumn, with spring and summer seeing a ten-fold increase.
It found fire activity had increased in cooler and tropical environments, such alpine forests in Tasmania and rainforests in Queensland.
Heavy snow falls on bushfire damaged country inside the Kosciuszko National Park near Adaminaby. The study found cooler alpine regions have seen an increase in fire activity. Getty
"In Australia, fire frequency has increased rapidly in some areas and there are now regions in the southeast and south with fire intervals shorter than 20 years," Dr Canadell said.
"This is significant because it means some types of vegetation won't reach maturity and this could put ecosystems at risk.
"Understanding these trends will help to inform emergency management, health, infrastructure, natural resource management and conservation."
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