Koalas with burnt fur, showing naked skin, kangaroos gasping for air and searching for water, and trees left to ashes. This is a scene of Australia in the present. Australia has been dealing with destructive bushfires since the summer of last year, which have yet to be extinguished. With the earth and sky of Australia flaming in red, not only people but also numerous animals and plants indigenous to the country are in serious danger. As the fires are getting worse, they are now considered a serious issue to the environment worldwide, as well as a problem to the country itself.

In June 2019, a wildfire started on the east coast of Australia. Since the area is known for being arid and hot, bushfires were not considered as a peculiar happening — usually, such fires were brought under control and extinguished at an early stage. However, the current wildfire is certainly at a different level, as it is spreading throughout the country with extreme heat and dryness without a solid effective solution. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), more than 10 million hectares of land were burnt due to this fire as of January. The fire is now expected to trigger far-reaching results that may be irreversible.

Humans and Animals — Lives in Danger

“An apocalyptic nightmare” — is how the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), an American news channel, described the Australian wildfire. The death toll has risen to 30 as the fire blazed through the country, and a number of animal species in Australia are in danger of being “entirely erased” as they are unable to escape from the rapid expansion of the fire. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) claimed that more than 1.25 billion animals have lost their lives due to the fire. In their statement, they mentioned that Australia was facing “thousands of koalas and other iconic species such as kangaroos, wallabies, kookaburras, cockatoos and honeyeaters burnt alive, and many thousands more injured and homeless.”

In order to assist injured and lost people and animals, donations were collected from citizens worldwide by humanitarian organizations including WWF, Australian Red Cross, and Australia Zoo. Such organizations have come forward to help those who were victims of the fire, providing immediate response, medical and mental treatment, and adequate shelter. Despite the efforts to protect and restore the wildlife of Australia, the country continues to face dismal situations without hope for a definite cessation.

The Choice between Mining and the Environment

As the world’s largest exporter of coal, Australia has been devoted to the coal mining industry, its coal production especially being intensified ever since Prime Minister Scott John Morrison took office in August 2018. By using the word coalophobia, he asserted that there was no need to be afraid of coal, actively encouraging citizens to advocate for the development of the domestic coal industry. The Daily Telegraph, a daily newspaper of the United Kingdom (UK), highlighted the significance of the mining industry to the Australian economy, as it is an “industry worth 70 billion dollars that employs tens of thousands of people.”

However, Prime Minister Morrison’s plan did not all result in a bright future for Australia. Considerable drawbacks began to appear, as domestic environmental issues related to the coal industry continued to rise to the surface. Heat and drought in Australia hit unprecedented records, and soon the fire started to consume the country. Severe criticisms mounted, emphasizing the connection between the mining industry and climate change, and ultimately to the wildfire. As coal, commented by The National Geographic, is a source of energy that “puts out the most carbon dioxide per unit of energy,” many pointed out that the coal mining and burning industries significantly constituted a risk to the global climate and eventually to the national fire.

Climate Change and the Australian Fires

As Australia is situated at the subtropical high-pressure belt, the fluctuation of the air naturally results in high temperature and dryness, thus making Australia a region to experience frequent wildfires. However, Professor Lee Eun-gul (Department of Geology, Kyung Hee University) pointed out that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) phenomenon has affected the extreme heat and drought. IOD is a climatic variation phenomenon that derives from the changes in the surface sea temperature of the Indian Ocean. The positive phase of IOD signifies a relatively higher temperature in the west side of the Indian Ocean bringing a drier climate to Australia, and the negative phase otherwise.

Professor Lee stated, “According to the 2019 Australia Annual Climate Statement, 2019 was a year when Australia was immensely influenced by the positive phase of IOD. This indicates that Australia had a high possibility of having a drier climate compared to the average year. In addition, when the dry condition sustains, the delivery of sensible heat from the earth to the atmosphere can be intensified, leading to an increase of temperature.” Thus, the extreme heat of 2019 could be in strong relations with the positive phase of IOD. He added, “Although IOD is part of natural climatic variation, climate change indeed can influence the intensity and change in its cycle.”

Due to the colossal size of the fire, the adverse consequences are forecasted not to be solely limited to the country. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), countries in South America, such as Argentina and Chile, encountered dangerous air qualities from the fire as well. UNEP continued to voice their concern for the world climate as the wildfire emitted significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — intensifying global warming and climate change. In response to such expected environmental problems worldwide, Professor Lee stressed, “Cooperation in personal, national, and global aspects is needed in order to mitigate human-induced climate change.”

The Australian wildfire is now considered as a stern warning of an environmental catastrophe that may doom the present and future generations. At the status quo, the importance of environmental protection is indeed within the understanding of every country. However, effective measures are insufficiently put forward to handle the current environmental crisis. It is now time for the world not to regard environmental problems as a one-time happening but as an important signal — for everyone to step up and make a change.