Australia should start preparing for dangerous bushfire conditions now: bushfire analyst

Australia should prepare for a dangerous fire season in the next two years, according to bushfire analyst Dr Kate Parkins.

Speaking at the Monash University STEM Showcase last night, Dr Parkins said recent wetter conditions along the east coast are a “double-edged sword”.

“We often see the worst bushfire seasons off the back of multiple wet seasons,” Dr Parkins said.

“We need to be thinking about bushfire preparedness now.”

Dr Parkins said the Black Summer bushfires of 2020 will be considered “normal” in the future if immediate climate action is not taken.

“The Black Summer fires really put Australia on the global map for the extent and the severity of the fires that we saw.”

“They really brought the word ‘unprecedented’ into common use.”

According to Dr Parkins’ research for FLARE Wildfire Research Group, the Black Summer bushfires of 2020 burnt 24 million hectares and 3000 homes.

Dr Parkins said delayed action on climate change is changing the “nature of fire and our interactions with it”.

“Research suggests we’re likely to experience hotter and drier conditions leading to fires lasting longer and in unusual locations.”

“Going forward our safety will largely depend on our action or inaction on this challenge.”

President of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Jo Dodds said the threat of a dangerous fire season in the next two years should spur governments to act.

“The problem is the worsening conditions which accelerate the fires,” Ms Dodds said.

“This should show climate action is a now problem, not a future problem.”

Ms Dodds is familiar with severe bushfire weather, having witnessed fires rip through her home of Tathra, New South Wales.

But Ms Dodds said those fires, which occurred in March 2018, were unique.

“That time of year in the middle of March is an unusual time to have a catastrophic bushfire,” Ms Dodds said.

“Everything looked pretty green and there were no warnings.”

Ms Dodds, who had already been working in climate change activism, said continued hot weather into April prompted a “psychological awakening” of the immediacy of the threat.

“The fact that we had a 39-degree day a month after the fires is unprecedented.”

“It finally convinced me that those fires were a result of climate change.”

Ms Dodds said the mental impact of bushfires and other disasters should also be considered in the policy-making process.

“The trauma of these events is real and ongoing.”

After the Tathra fires, Ms Dodds said she developed a “sense of dislocation”.

“I felt lost; my sense of safety was lost and I became hypersensitive to my environment.

“Everything that was once solid in your world suddenly, isn’t.”

Ms Dodds said as the prevalence and scale of bushfires increases, more government funding is needed to create services that help survivors.

“You’ve got people going through multiple events, back-to-back.

“Dealing with trauma and grief is better done in groups as it shows people that the problem isn’t them, but what happened to you,” Ms Dodds said.

According to a Climate Council study conducted after the Black Summer fires, climate change-related anxiety is increasing, with 59 per cent of participants reporting “extreme worry”.

The study showed a correlation between increased climate anxiety and “perceived inadequate government response”.

“This shows it is an appropriate and rational response to the climate breakdown we are beginning to witness.”

But the report said “taking action” is the most impactful thing to safeguard the mental health of current and future generations.

“Nations must respond to protect the mental health of children and young people by engaging in ethical, collective, policy-based action against climate change,” the report said.

Ms Dodds said the recent change in government provides hope that this will happen.

“The gaslighting of bushfire survivors and the playing down of concerns takes its toll.

“The best thing that can be done to support these people is taking appropriate action.”

If this article raised any concerns, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

More mental health resources for bushfire survivors are available at https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/resources/bushfires/