Canada’s fires evoke Australia’s own — and why we must work together to save the planet

It was haunting to see the smoke and flames engulfing Canada and spreading to America recently. It brought back so many emotions from experiencing Australia’s own Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20. In many respects, we are still counting the costs.

During our Black Summer, lethal bushfire smoke claimed more than 400 lives and affected 80% of our population. The devastating health toll included a surge in cardiovascular issues and asthma emergencies. If the smoke persists, North America should brace itself for similar repercussions.

In fact, the staggering consequences of such megafires extend to affecting the very weather, with recent studies revealing that the Black Summer fires emitted enough smoke to affect global weather patterns, resulting in the recent triple-dip La Niña events.

Both these blazes and Canada’s ongoing fires burned an area 10 times greater than had burned previously in our respective countries. The immense amount of carbon released worsens climate change. Staggeringly, the Black Summer fires alone released more than a year’s worth of Australian greenhouse gas emissions.

The effects on wildlife are both heartbreaking and ecologically destabilising.

In Australia, an estimated 3 billion animals were killed or displaced during the Black Summer megafires. The fires burnt about 21% of the nation’s temperate broadleaved forests, leaving Australia’s unique wildlife gasping for air. Across scorched terrain, koalas lay in crumpled desolate heaps where they’d fallen from flaming perches, while the charred remains of snakes entwined among rocks and dead wallabies bobbed lifelessly in waterholes.

These deaths are not just statistics; they represent the essential fabric of ecosystems. Canadian forests, rich in biodiversity, face similar decimation.

As the smoke billows from Canada and shrouds regions across the United States, it shows that climate-induced calamities don’t respect national borders. We are all connected through a global web of climate, ecology, and atmospheric conditions. We can no longer afford to view such disasters in isolation. These are not just fires. They are smoke signals of a world aflame.

In this new era of the megafire, the world needs to work together. We need to cut emissions deeply and quickly, and get serious about fighting climate change. Countries should team up to manage disasters by sharing knowledge and extending a helping hand to one another. Additionally, governments must move quickly to ensure all communities are better prepared for fires and other climate-fuelled disasters. This includes spending money on protections and working to significantly cut greenhouse gases to avoid further harm.

We must recognise that tackling climate change is a collective endeavour in which individuals and communities, along with governments, can have a significant impact. Everyone has a role to play. By becoming climate leaders, engaging within our communities, and rallying behind action at a greater scale and speed with solutions we know work, we can shape our world for the better.

The fact that climate change is worsening, and that it is rapidly increasing the risks to us all, is undeniable. We’re living it. Anyone trying to normalise megafires, or the devastation they bring, doesn’t care for their fellow people.

The science is clear: the relentless consumption of fossil fuels is fanning the flames of the climate crisis. Major polluters need to be held accountable for their actions. And it’s time for political leaders to inject urgency into efforts to reduce emissions. Lives, homes and ecosystems are at stake.

My thoughts and feelings are with Canadians. Having lived through the Black Summer, I know the heartache, anxiety and sorrow many must be feeling.

This disaster, the latest in a string of climate-fuelled disasters, must serve as an alarm bell. Safeguarding human societies and the places for which we care so deeply must be everyone’s utmost priority.