A new heat wave is expected to hit Friday on Australia and worsen due to gusts of wind the crisis of forest fires which have been ravaging the south and east of the country for months, the authorities having urged the population to greater caution. Thousands of firefighters have prepared for this expected rise in mercury, which is expected to exceed 40 ° C in the states of Victoria and New South Wales. The winds are also expected to turn south to worsen the situation.
“The conditions are going to be tough. Warm and dry winds will once again be the real challenge, "said New South Wales rural fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons. “The winds will settle between 35 and 50 km / h, with gusts at 70-90 km / h in certain areas, and this for most of the day. "
Fifty fires get out of control
The Prime Minister of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, has reported more than 130 active fires in her state, some 50 of which are out of control. In the neighboring state of Victoria, evacuation orders have been launched for areas bordering New South Wales. Victoria authorities extended the state of the natural disaster for two days due to the high temperatures expected on Friday.
The situation was particularly serious also on Kangaroo Island, in the south of South Australia, whose main locality, Kingscote, was cut off from the rest of the world by gigantic blazers. Many residents have taken refuge near the pier until a road is passable again. Particularly precocious and virulent, the fire season has already killed 26 people in Australia, reduced to ashes an area equivalent to the island of Ireland and destroyed more than 2,000 houses.
These fires are increasingly aggravated by droughts induced by global warming.
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