Want to see Climate Change LIVE and in Action. Look at Australia…
Australia is in the midst of an environmental catastrophe, with raging wildfires making parts of the nation look like a blood-red apocalyptic hellscape.
As dramatic as the scene on the ground might be, though, the view from above may be even more disturbing — as images of the wildfires taken from space show the full extent of the devastation.
This particularly striking visual is courtesy of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Himawari-8 satellite, which photographs the Earth every 10 minutes. The agency produced an animation of the scene in Australia from space by stringing together a day’s worth of the images, providing a grim off-world view of both the brushfires and their smoke plumes.
As of Friday, the wildfires have killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes. They’re now so big, they’re even generating their own self-perpetuating weather phenomena — and according to experts, Australia’s situation will likely get worse before it gets better.
More than 100 fires are raging in eastern Australia, and thousands of firefighters are battling the blazes amid brutally dry conditions that will likely get worse in the coming months.
The fires are being exacerbated by record-breaking heat – earlier in December, the country experienced its hottest day ever recorded. It is also facing brutally dry conditions. The government meteorological bureau also says that global warming is contributing to the spike in temperatures.
“Australia don’t usually see fires like this until January or February, but these have been going on since spring. It’s already the worst fire season on record, and they are just in first month of summer.”
Reference- Business Insider, The Guardian, NPR.org