Published 15:12 IST, December 22nd 2019
Australian PM defends climate policies as cool weather change helps firefighters
With firefighters battling wildfires in Australia and trying to save badly burned areas, PM Scott Morrison defended the country's climate change policies.
With firefighters battling raging wildfires in Australia and trying to put out fires in badly burned areas, Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the country's policies on climate change alongside his decision to go to Hawaii for a holiday. According to reports, the Bureau of Meteorology mentioned that with the weather being cool today and favourable over the next few days, firefighters will continue to put out fires in badly burned areas with special focus on the Blue mountains region located to the west of Sydney.
Australia's climate change policies criticised
Morrison talked about the climate policies because of which the Australian government has been subject to intense criticism because of the wildfires that because of dry conditions that bought about an early start to the fires. Australia has also been criticised at the United Nations summit in Madrid because of its policy on climate change that uses old carbon credits to count future emission targets. After two fire responders lost their lives while trying to douse fires, Morrison said that he was aware of the fact that people were bound to get upset as he was on a holiday in Hawaii while their homes were getting destroyed and were rendered homeless.
Emergency Level
As firefighters battle against raging wildfires in Australia, massive bushfires were fanned across the state of New South Wales with two bushfires around Sydney in what was termed as an emergency level. According to reports, a lot of major roads going towards the south and west direction around the city of Sydney were shut down and concerned officials asked all the residents to slightly delay their holiday plans, with warnings about the raging wildfires due to soaring temperatures above 40 degrees.
According to New South Wales Rural Fire Services Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, the present conditions due to wildfires were of a catastrophic level. He further added that it has been awful for such a thing to happen. Fitzsimmons said that they have been witness to the loss of property, adding that 3,000 firefighters were battling wildfires. According to reports, six wildfires were classified under the emergency level in New South Wales out of which two were raging around Sydney. It was said that conditions were expected to improve with reports suggesting that conditions would worsen again after a week.
A change in wind direction led the winds to blow through the Southern coast of New South Wales on December 21. The weather forecast suggested that the wind speeds would be up to 56 miles per hour which will worsen fire conditions. According to reports, the Gospers Mountain fire has claimed almost 460,000 hectares in the northwest direction of Sydney.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 17:56 IST, December 22nd 2019