Australians must be prepared to face "
more frequent and severe
"
disasters
due to climate change, a commission of inquiry into the forest fires that ravaged the huge island continent warned on Friday (October 30th) in 2019 and 2020.
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Fires return to Australia every year at the end of the southern winter, but last year they were exceptionally serious, killing 33 people and destroying an area equal to that of the United Kingdom or Ghana.
"
What was unprecedented now is our future,
" warned the royal commission charged with better preparing Australia to deal with natural disasters.
According to her, not only will disasters “
unfortunately be more frequent and more serious
” but “
we can expect more simultaneous and consecutive dangerous phenomena
”.
“
In the past 12 months, there has been drought, heat waves and forest fires, followed by severe storms, floods and a pandemic,
” the commission recalled.
Nine months of fires
The fires, which lasted for nine months and ended in March, have killed or displaced nearly three billion animals, costing the Australian economy an estimated $ 7 billion (€ 6 billion).
The annual cost of disasters could increase to around $ 27 billion by 2050, without even taking into account the worsening global warming "
inevitable over the next two decades
."
“
As a result, the sea level is expected to continue to rise.
Cyclones are expected to decrease in number, but increase in intensity.
Floods and forest fires are expected to become more frequent and intense
”.
Read also: Record temperatures, out of control fires ... Australia facing a climate hell
Among its 80 recommendations, the report calls for better data on how global warming will translate into specific areas.
However, he did not call on the Conservative government, accused of delaying putting in place measures to combat this phenomenon, to tackle the root causes, disappointing some experts.
"
We have a bathtub that is overflowing with problems,
" said environmentalist Michael Clarke of La Trobe University.
"
Of course we can focus on controlling the level, cleaning up when it overflows, but we could also consider turning off the taps
."
On several occasions Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed the link between climate change and fires, remaining a staunch supporter of Australia's very powerful and lucrative mining industry.