Human consequences
More than 3,000 homes destroyed; thousands of holidaymakers evacuated by sea.
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Fire & heatwave“Black Summer” megafires
33Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- 33 direct deaths; more than 400 deaths attributed to the smoke.
After the hottest and driest year on record in Australia, giant fires burn for months across the south-east of the country and generate their own thunderstorms.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
About 24 million hectares burned and nearly 3 billion animals killed or displaced according to WWF; the smoke reaches the stratosphere.
Economic consequences
Tourism, agriculture and insurance are hit hard.
Political consequences
A royal commission of inquiry is set up and Australian climate policy comes under fierce criticism.
Smoke plume
- New Zealand glaciers turned brown
- South America · January 2020
Further reading
Similar disasters
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- Great Fire of LondonFire & heatwave · England1666
- Hunga Tonga eruptionVolcano · Tonga2022
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