Australia’s massive fires, as seen from space

Australia’s massive fires, as seen from space

Fires have been burning in Australia since September and have sent smoke into cities, like this blaze near Shark Creek in New South Wales. | Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Maps and images show where the fires are, and how much smoke they’ve created.

The massive bushfires in Australia are still spreading as heat, high winds, and dry weather are pushing flames through much of the southeastern part of the country.

The blazes have proved deadly and destructive, burning through more than 14.8 million acres, or 23,000 square miles, an area almost as large as the state of West Virginia. The fires have now killed at least 20 people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes.

You can see where fires have burned as of Friday in this map of New South Wales and Victoria; it shows how close these blazes are to cities like Sydney and Port Macquarie.

Map of Australian bushfires as of January 3, 2020.Christina Animashaun/Vox
Australia’s ongoing wildfires have now burned an area almost as large as West Virginia.

The smoke from these bushfires has shrouded much of Australia’s southeastern coast, suffusing cities with a crimson and dark orange glow. The thick haze is remarkable even from above. Compare the NASA Landsat satellite image on the left of the southeast coast on July 24, 2019, to the same region on New Year’s Day, during some of the most intense fires this season:

The Japan Meteorological Agency’s Himawari geostationary satellites have also captured the smoke rising from the fires in the southeast and wafting over the ocean.

A satellite visual of smoke over Australia on January 3, 2020.Japan Meteorological Agency
Satellite images show smoke from Australia’s bushfires in the southeast wafting over the ocean.

The ash and soot from Australia’s recent fires have spread as far as New Zealand, turning the fringes of mountaintop glaciers a dusty brown.

These fires are burning just as Australia is emerging from its hottest, driest year on record. Several unique weather patterns converged over the country to create the hot, dry conditions behind the fires this season. But climate change is a major factor, with average temperatures rising across Australia and the most populated parts of the country receiving less rainfall over time, worsening the risk of extreme wildfires.

Beyond obscuring scenic vistas, smoke is a major health hazard, with the smallest particles doing the most damage. During the most intense fires, the thick smoke left Australians in cities like Canberra with the worst air quality in the world, reaching conditions that were 20 times more than the limit for hazardous pollution levels.

An animation of air pollution over Australia on January 3, 2020IQAir/AirVisual
Bushfires have created air pollution hotspots over Australia’s southeastern coast.

Poor air quality can increase the incidence of breathing problems and contribute to conditions like heart attacks, so even far away from the front lines of the fire, many Australians are suffering from the blazes, and there is little respite on the horizon this weekend.

Author: Umair Irfan

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