As hot and dry weather conditions approach with the onset of El Nino, emergency services in communities across Australia urge residents to be alert.
An Emergency Warning has been issued for parts of Nambeelup, Serpentine and the Shire of Murray in Western Australia. For the latest, search onEmergency services have warned of hot and dry weather conditions approaching in the coming months that may lead to significant bushfires in the southern states.
Fire services in the country's southern states have warned against individual complacency following recent wet summers — and have implored residents to ensure they have prepared bushfire plans for the summer ahead. "We have gone from very wet conditions, which have developed a lot of grass, a lot of fuel. All of a sudden it's almost changed overnight to being incredibly dry, hot conditions.The reprieve came after the state battled more than 1,000 vegetation fires over the past fortnight, which burned through more than 26,000 hectares of Tara in the Western Downs region, and more than 9,000 hectares in Dalveen in the Southern Downs.
On the same day, the bureau announced a "positive" Indian Ocean Dipole had also developed, with the two climate drivers combining to increase the risks of low rainfall, and high bushfire danger.