Might the bushfire crisis be the turning point on climate politics Australian needs?

Jan 16, 2020 09:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature Politics

Countries have long periods in which policies change little, and only by increments. Occasionally there are turning points, when previously intractable policy problems are suddenly resolved, recasting policy for the...

We have already had countless bushfire inquiries. What good will it do to have another?

Jan 16, 2020 09:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

As our country battles the most extensive fires of our lifetime, there are increasing calls for a royal commission into the states and territories preparedness and the federal governments response to the disaster. A...

Australian building codes don't expect houses to be fire-proof - and that's by design

Jan 14, 2020 23:30 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in Australia since the start of the bushfire season. More will certainly be destroyed before the season ends in March. Could these houses have been built to better withstand...

Car accidents, drownings, violence: hotter temperatures will mean more deaths from injury

Jan 14, 2020 23:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

What we suspected is now official: 2019 was Australias hottest year on record. The countrys average maximum temperature last year (30.69℃) was a scorching 2.09℃ hotter than the 1961-1990 average. For the whole planet,...

Australia's bushfires could drive more than 700 animal species to extinction

Jan 14, 2020 23:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The scale and speed of the current bushfire crisis has caught many people off-guard, including biodiversity scientists. People are scrambling to estimate the long-term effects. It is certain that many animal species will...

Some say we've seen bushfires worse than this before. But they're ignoring a few key facts

Jan 14, 2020 23:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Every time a weather extreme occurs, some people quickly jump in to say weve been through it all before: that worse events have happened in the past, or its just part of natural climate variability. The recent bushfire...

Jakarta's flood costs will increase by up to 400% by 2050, research shows

Jan 14, 2020 00:43 am UTC| Nature Economy Research & Analysis

Indonesia started 2020 with flood waters inundating parts of the capital Jakarta and surrounding areas, killing at least 67 people and displacing 300,000. This is something that Jakarta and other coastal cities may face...