Black Summer -

The stage was set by a prolonged and severe drought. Large parts of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland had been in drought for years, desiccating the soil and vegetation. Forests that were usually damp and resistant to fire had turned into tinderboxes. Compounding this was the influence of a strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which acted to restrict rainfall over Australia, and the ominous presence of climate change, which had steadily increased average temperatures, making heatwaves more frequent and intense.

The psychological scars remain. A 2021 study found that survivors of Black Summer show PTSD rates comparable to combat veterans. The "orange sky" photographs, though viral, cannot capture the sound of the wind roaring like a jet engine or the smell of a burning eucalyptus forest. Black Summer

Spanning the austral spring and summer of 2019–2020, the Black Summer bushfires were not merely another fire season. They were a cataclysm. When the smoke finally cleared, 33 people were dead, thousands were injured, an estimated three billion animals were killed or displaced, and a continent was left gasping under a sky the color of blood. The stage was set by a prolonged and severe drought

That number is so large it is nearly incomprehensible. It represents almost every animal in the path of the fires. The iconic species took the worst hits: Compounding this was the influence of a strong