The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
As Australia’s “catastrophic” and deadly wildfire emergency continues, UN weather experts on Tuesday echoed Government warnings for people to remain vigilant in the face of the fast-moving threat and tinderbox conditions.
In Geneva, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted that dozens of fires are raging in eastern New South Wales and southeast Queensland, amid reports that three people lost their lives in the fires at the weekend.
“Apart from the immediate physical threat…when, you know, authorities issue a message of catastrophic fire danger, the message there is basically, “Get out, get away,’” Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) told journalists.
Citing Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology description of the situation as “evolving and dangerous”, Ms. Nullis said that conditions were likely to remain dry, with little to no rain forecast.
“The fires are due to a combination of factors including low soil moisture, heat and importantly, wind direction and wind speed,” she explained.
New South Wales has declared a state of emergency as parts of the state - including the Greater Sydney area and Queensland - face a "catastrophic" fire danger - the highest level of warning.
Although bush and grassfires are common in Australia, the emergency is linked to increasingly warm temperatures over the course of the last century.
“According to the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia, it’s been the second warmest January to October on record for Australia as a whole and these are records going back 110 years,” Ms. Nullis said, adding that the number of days falling into the category of “fire weather days” has increased.
“The most extreme 10 per cent of fire weather days - which is how, you know, they measure the fire index - has increased in recent decades across many regions of Australia, especially across Southern and Eastern Australia, there has been an associated increase in the length of the fire weather season and climate change including increasing temperatures is contributing to these changes.”
According to WMO, many at-risk communities face winds of 60 to 80 kilometres per hour (37 to 50 miles per hour) and temperatures in the mid to high 30s Celsius (around 95 Fahrenheit).
Although a cool weather front may ease fire dangers, “a combination of dry and gusty winds and a shift in wind direction will mean people in the impacted areas will need to remain vigilant,” Ms. Nullis insisted.
Between 1967 and 2013, major Australian bushfires resulted in over 8,000 injuries and 433 deaths, close to 50 per cent of all fatalities from major Australian natural disasters, excluding heatwaves, Australian Government figures show.
Over the same period, bushfires cost approximately $3.2 billion.
- Exterior shot, Palais des Nations, car passing behind pedestrians taking photographs.
- Wide shot, United Nations press room, journalists.
- Close-up, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson:“Apart from the immediate physical threat, and when, you know, authorities issue a message of catastrophic fire danger, the message there is basically, “Get out, get away.’”
- Close-up, journalist, profile.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson: “According to the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia, it’s been the second warmest January to October on record for Australia as a whole, and these are records going back 110 years.”
- Medium shot, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson: “The fires are due to a combination of factors including low soil moisture, heat and importantly, wind direction and wind speed.”
- Close-up, journalist’s hands typing on laptop.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson:“The most extreme 10 per cent of fire weather days, which is how, you know, they measure the fire index has increased in recent decades across many regions of Australia, especially across Southern and Eastern Australia; there has been an associated increase in the length of the fire weather season and climate change including increasing temperatures is contributing to these changes.”
- Medium shot, journalist typing on laptop, spokesperson to rear, journalist in foreground, blurred.
- Close-up, journalists’ hands typing on laptops, podium with speakers to rear.
- Close-up, journalists in profile.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
A little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed and hundreds more injured, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.