Aussie Bushfire Update No 21: Rain!: 10,000 camels to be slaughtered: Almost 10 million hectares consumed: Arson isn't climate change: Revised animal death toll now at one billion

As wildfires in Australia continue to burn throughout the continent, sooty rain and cooler temperatures have finally brought some welcome relief to affected communities and fire crews from Sydney to Melbourne, with “torrential” rain reported in some parts of New South Wales (NSW). However, authorities warn that temperatures are expected to rise again later this week, and dangerous bushfire conditions will likely continue across eastern Victoria and NSW by Saturday. Forecasters also predict very hot and windy conditions in South Australia by Friday, with temperatures averaging around 113 degrees Fahrenheit. They also warn that huge fires in Victoria and NSW have the potential to come together to create a larger “mega blaze.” Credit NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory

• The revised animal death toll now at one billion with 8 hundred million in New South Wales (1News)
• Professional shooters will hunt 10,000 feral camels from helicopters in drought-ravaged South Australia because the animals drink too much water.
• Almost 10 million hectares consumed.
• The Australia bush fires are generating vast areas of violent weather 

Australia is to hunt and kill 10,000 feral camels amid record drought

Professional shooters will hunt 10,000 feral camels from helicopters in drought-ravaged South Australia because the animals drink too much water. More than 1 million camels roam the outback but since the record-breaking drought started camels have become a pest, invading properties looking for water, Australia is thought to have lost more than half a billion animals since the fires started at the beginning of September.

Map Daily Mail

Police have arrested nearly 2 hundred men thought to have started the fires deliberately, lightning is also blamed for starting many fires in which the mainstream media are blaming on climate change

A row has broken out over the cause of Australia's deadly bushfire crisis, with Liberal MP Craig Kelly claiming that 'arson is not caused by climate change'. The MP, who is known for his climate change scepticism, put forward his opinion on why the country is gripped in a fire emergency during an appearance on ABC's RN Breakfast show. 'Unprecedented' numbers of people had been arrested and charged with arson offences, he claimed. 'The arson is not caused by climate change.' The claims of arson have already become a political battleground, with some politicians and commentators seizing on them to argue that the impact of climate change has been overstated. Daily Mail

 The economic damage from the bushfires is likely to exceed $4.4bn, 2,000 homes lost, almost 10 million hectares consumed. Will we recover before the next bushfire crisis? 

The economic damage from the bushfires devastating Australia’s eastern seaboard is likely to exceed the record $4.4bn set by 2009’s Black Saturday blazes, Moody’s Analytics has said. The Moody’s economist Katrina Ell said the fires would further cripple Australia’s already anaemic consumer confidence, increasing the chances of a rate cut next month, as well as causing damage to the economy through increased air pollution and direct harm to industries such as farming and tourism. She said the risk of damage to the broader economy, outside areas ravaged by fire, was increased because the bushfire season still had months to run. So far the fires have charred at least 8.4m hectares across the whole country, compared with the 450,000 ha affected by Black Saturday. Tourism is the lifeblood of NSW's south coast. Will we recover before the next bushfire crisis? The 2009 fires, which ripped through relatively densely populated rural areas north of Melbourne, killed 173 people and almost completely destroyed the town of Marysville. So far, 25 people are known to have died in this season’s fires, which have also done severe damage to many towns, including Cobargo and Mogo on the NSW south coast, and Mallacoota in the far south-east of Victoria. Guardian

'Never seen anything like it’: The Australia bush fires are generating vast areas of violent weather 

Among the many apocalyptic scenes from the Australian bush fires has been the presence of explosive, towering clouds appearing in the skies above the fire zones of southeastern Australia. These clouds, the most fearsome of which is known as pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCb for short, are fire-generated thunderstorms. Their presence is an indication that a fire is exhibiting extreme behaviours, such as spreading quickly beyond containment lines, switching its direction of movement, and even whipping up fire whirls and full-fledged fire tornadoes. Passengers aboard a Qantas Airlines flight to Canberra learned about the extraordinary forces involved in these clouds over the weekend when their aircraft accidentally flew through one at high altitude. According to an ABC News account of the flight, the sky outside the aircraft’s windows turned bright orange, then pitch black as jarring updrafts shook the plane. Washington Post

National news agency Australian Associated Press has been overwhelmed by an influx of dubious social media posts relating to the national bushfire crisis that it must fact-check on behalf of partner Facebook. AAP chief executive Bruce Davidson said his fact-checking team had been working through "dozens and dozens" of suspect posts relating to the bushfires this week, with areas of concern ranging from misleading images to false political claims. The surge in false and misleading posts on social media websites about the causes of the bushfires has led to concerns among politicians and academics, who have urged the public to be careful when reading online content. Sydney Morning Herald

Wildfires 2020

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