GLENREAGH, Australia: Australians on Wednesday began sifting through the ashes of hundreds of bushfires that have ravaged the country, relieved that their worst fears were unrealized — but wary of a long and brutal summer ahead.
Firefighters were still battling 140 blazes across the country’s eastern seaboard, but a respite from “catastrophic” weather conditions meant the danger from many fires was downgraded.
The northern state of Queensland remained on high alert, with residents on the north shore of popular holiday town Noosa told to “leave immediately” as an “unpredictable” fire was burning nearby.
But in the worst-hit areas of New South Wales, cooler southerly winds eased conditions — a stark contrast with the gale-force gusts and high temperatures that plagued firefighters for much of Tuesday.
In all, 50 homes were damaged or destroyed, and around 20 people were injured, but most populated areas were spared.
Residents of the small towns of Glenreagh and Nana Glen returned to find houses intact, a nearby 150,000-hectare (370,000-acre) inferno having stopped just short of their doors.
But on nearby farmland, unlucky families faced homes destroyed and cars transformed into blackened husks.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting commissioner Michael Wassing said another wind change on Wednesday afternoon could worsen several large fires in difficult-to-access areas of the state.
“We’ve got another tough day today and there’s an extended forecast that we’re not out of the woods by any means,” he said.
Tough conditions were expected to flare again in Queensland and New South Wales at the weekend as the temperature rises and winds pick up.
“We will not have all these fires contained before then,” New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said, adding that it could be “many, many weeks” before the situation is fully under control.
“Unfortunately, what we need is rain... and there is certainly nothing in the forecast for the foreseeable future that’s going to make any discernible difference.”
More than 300 new fires began in the state Tuesday, with 19 classified as emergencies. They spanned a distance of almost 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) — from the outskirts of Sydney north toward Brisbane.
“The losses, the damage, the consequences could have been simply enormous across such a broad geographic area,” Fitzsimmons said.
New South Wales Police said they had begun investigating whether a small number of the blazes had been deliberately lit, as they made handful of arrests for suspected looting of fire-stricken properties.
The hot, dry continent of Australia has long experienced bushfires, but scientists say climate change is exacerbating extreme weather conditions, including a prolonged drought in the country’s east that has created tinderbox-like conditions.
The Bureau of Meteorology says human-caused climate change is also “influencing the frequency and severity of dangerous bushfire conditions” by increasing temperatures, sapping moisture from the environment and causing an earlier and more extreme fire season.
The unprecedented wave of bushfires have brought renewed calls for the conservative government to curb fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
However Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other senior ministers have repeatedly refused to answer questions about climate change during the unfolding catastrophe.
Bushfire threat still high as Australia clean up begins
Bushfire threat still high as Australia clean up begins
- Firefighters were still battling 140 blazes across the country’s eastern seaboard
- Tough conditions were expected to flare again in Queensland and New South Wales at the weekend as the temperature rises and winds pick up
Britain needs to step up defense spending faster, says Starmer
- Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30
LONDON: Britain should step up and accelerate its defense spending, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, following a report that the government was considering bringing forward its target to spend 3 percent of economic output on defense.
Britain, which has warned of the risks posed by Russia, said in February 2025 that it would lift annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of the GDP by 2027 and aim for 3 percent in the next Parliament, which is expected to begin after an election due in 2029.
The BBC reported that the government was now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029. It said no decision had been taken but the government recognized current plans would not cover rising defense costs.
HIGHLIGHT
The BBC reported that the government is now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029.
Asked whether he would bring the target forward to 2029, Starmer echoed comments he made at the Munich Security Conference, where he said Europe had united to support Ukraine with the supply of weapons and munitions and to strengthen military readiness.
“We need to step up. That means on defense spending, we need to go faster,” Starmer told reporters on Monday. “We’ve obviously made commitments already in relation to that, but it goes beyond just how much you spend.”
Latest NATO estimates show that Britain spent 2.3 percent of the GDP on defense in 2024, above the alliance’s 2 percent guideline. But like other European countries, it has faced US pressure to spend more to protect the continent. Struggling with high debt and spending commitments, the government last year cut its international aid budget to fund the hike in defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP but is yet to publish an investment plan with spending priorities, something that has frustrated the defense industry.
Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has struggled to stay on track with her plans to repair the public finances. The BBC said the Finance Ministry was believed to be cautious about the new defense spending proposals.
A government spokesperson said Britain was “delivering the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
