(Bloomberg) –Wildfires were bearing down on rural communities along Australia’s east coast on Tuesday as authorities warned that strong winds and soaring temperatures would make conditions increasingly dangerous.
Authorities issued multiple emergency warnings for fires burning about 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Sydney and further up the coast, and said in some instances it may be too late for residents to safely leave.
EMERGENCY WARNING: Carrai East Fire (Kempsey LGA)
Bush fire is burning west of Kempsey. The fire breached containment lines & is spreading quickly. If you are in the area west of Kempsey you are at risk. It is too late to leave. Seek shelter as the fire approaches #nswrfs #alert pic.twitter.com/fJVX6bZKct— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 12, 2019
Meanwhile, Sydney continued to face a “catastrophic” fire danger — the highest warning level that’s ever been issued for Australia’s largest city. Temperatures are forecast to reach 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with damaging winds gusting to more than 90 kilometers per hour this evening, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. As of 3 p.m. local time, there were no reports of outbreaks in the Greater Sydney region.
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More than 3,000 firefighters were deployed or on standby across the state and hundreds of schools were closed as a precaution. Smoke haze settled on Sydney and health authorities warned people with respiratory conditions and asthma to stay inside.
Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent and is considered one of the most vulnerable developed countries to global warming. According to the weather bureau, climate change is influencing the frequency and severity of dangerous bushfire conditions, with the season starting earlier in spring in southern and eastern parts of Australia.
With three people dead and at least 150 homes destroyed in recent days, the fires have thrust the threat posed by global warming back into the headlines in a nation that gets the bulk of its energy from burning coal.
–With assistance from Hannah Dormido.
