Bushfire Season

[Platypus]

Well, a whole 10 days into summer, Melbourne's already reached 42 degrees C...about 110 F. There's also a heavy smoke cover, although it was much worse yesterday-it was as if there was actual pollution in the air!

The smoke that has been covering Melbourne, and also Hobart, is from bushfires, the massive, annual series of natural disasters that each year claim lives and property.

In the High country fires, here in victoria, over 131,000 hectares have already been burnt in what is the most unfriednly terrain to firefighting in Australia except maybe southwestern Tassie.

Well, anyway, Bushfire season has arrived. I'm happy to be the VIC and Tasmania correspondent, and Polnut can cover NSW, ACT and QLD Corey seems to be back so he's got the rest

Anyway, it's going to be a long, hot, dry and dangerous summer this year.

[AkSaber]

Ick. 110??!! I've never even been in temperatures greater than 90 degrees!! Which is like 32 degrees Celsius. But I know what it is like when wildfire smoke lingers around your city. Though Anchorage doesn't get it nearly as bad as Fairbanks does. I'm glad Alaska is having winter now!!

[Platypus]

Well, over 250,000 hectares has now been burnt in Victoria in these bushfires, although the cool change has come through. Not much rain, but at least it's not over 40. Looking out the window at the city, the smoke haze is basically gone. First round of bushfires is dying down.