Burnt out Car in a Forest Damagaed by Wildfire

Synopsis

Australia experiences an annual fire season during the summer months when temperatures rise, and the landscape dries out. Wildfires are considered a natural event as the fire stimulates seed germination and creates space for new life to grow. Human-induced climate change is, however, impacting the frequency and the severity of these burn events globally. In recent decades there have been significant changes to the bushfire events that occur across southern and eastern Australia with the fire season commencing earlier into spring and events reaching more extreme and dangerous conditions. ;During the year of 2019/2020 Australia encountered an extreme wildfire burning event, with 2019 being one of the hottest and driest years ever recorded. ;Kangaroo Island is located off the southern coastline of Australia and was severely affected by the 2019/20 bushfires. Fires engulfed over 200,000 hectares of land, nearly half of the whole island and thousands of animals perished in the event, including koalas and kangaroos. Since this event the island has been slowly recovering with fauna and flora observed encroaching into the burnt areas of the island.

---

Credit

Images freely available on Open Planet

---

Note

Open Planet is made possible with the support of our collaborators - broadcasters, production companies, affiliates and filmmakers. Please also credit those listed below.

---

Production Companies

Silverback Films

---