The Alleynian 708 2020

THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY

Image: William Brooke (Year 11)

OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES

THE BURNING ISSUE OF OUR TIMES

Daniel Kamaluddin (Year 9) recalls a trip to Australia during the worst bush fires in living memory

I t is mid-December 2019. I am walking with my family down Oxford Street, passing the glittering shops which illuminate the London dusk. We have just finished our Christmas shopping. My dad stops to look at something on his phone: it’s the webcam for Sydney Harbour Bridge. I stop to look over his shoulder. All I can see is tainted smog veiling the city. In a few days’ time, we will be flying out to spend Christmas and New Year with friends and family in Sydney. We have heard the news reports about the burning forests and the toxic fumes covering the city. The week before we are due to travel has been one of the worst weeks of all. We have already had to cancel our trip to the Blue Mountains National Park, which has been surrounded by two huge fires. We know we must be prepared to leave Sydney sooner than planned. A few days later, flying in over New South Wales, we see huge towers of orange smoke bellowing up from beneath us. Minutes later, we can smell it in the cabin. This is our first experience of the bush fires but will not be the last. Walking out of the airport, it’s surprisingly cold. We take a taxi to the house where we will be staying. As we drive, we realise we have been lucky: the prevailing wind changed direction as we were flying, and the fire has died down. Although we are tired, after settling in we head down to the beach to meet some friends. As we are jumping off the jetty, I talk to my friend about the bush fires. ‘Some days you get back into your house and you can’t breathe,’ he tells me. ‘It’s been much worse than this. There have been a few nice days like today, but it always comes back.’ He is right. When I wake early in the morning and go out on the balcony to watch the sun rise, I feel my throat burning.

During the so-called ‘Black Summer’ of 2019 to 2020, Australia experienced its most dangerous bush fire season on record. Thick, toxic smoke hung over the skies of New South Wales from July to late January, resulting in untold damage to the health of its residents. 16 million acres of land were destroyed, together with 5,900 buildings, including 2,779 homes. 34 people died as a direct result of the fires. One billion animals were killed, and many vulnerable species driven to near extinction. The fires led to the emission of 306 million tonnes of CO 2 into the environment. The damage to the Australian economy was substantial, with over $1 billion lost in tourism alone. The fires were the result of a three-year drought which left much of the east coast parched. When lightning storms came in June and July, Australia was lit like a match box. There is significant evidence to suggest that the drought was caused by changes in the environment resulting from man-made climate change. This is a controversial topic in Australia, which has a huge coal lobby. The moderate and Labour-backed newspapers argued that the fires were caused by climate change. However, the more powerful Liberal- backed newspapers like Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian and The Daily Telegraph tried to play down the significance of the fires, denying that they were caused by man-made climate change. The swift escalation of the situation can be attributed in part to Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s failure to realise the true impact of the fires and to mobilise in time. His controversial decision to go on holiday to Hawaii, while the fire-fighters fought uncontrollable flames, disgusted many Australians. One good thing that may come out of this event is that climate change denial is much less widespread in Australia than it was before the bush fires.

The fires eventually ended in late January with a spate of heavy rain. The news had been full of stories about the fires on Kangaroo Island, a haven for endangered animals. We had been to Kangaroo Island just two years before, and it was probably the most beautiful place I had ever been. My mum got in touch with our old guide, and he said that he had been forced to evacuate his home. The fires, he said, could spread over kilometres in one night; they could come upon you while you were sleeping, and you would never know. We watch the Sydney fireworks on the TV, unable to forget the horrible reality as we view the pyrotechnics. The fires are now sweeping through Melbourne and the rest of Victoria. People are huddled on boats, unable to see ahead or behind them. Families are finding themselves trapped on beaches, not knowing when, or if, they will see their homes again.

FAMILIES ARE FINDING THEMSELVES TRAPPED ON BEACHES, NOT KNOWING WHEN, OR IF, THEY WILL SEE THEIR HOMES AGAIN

We return to Sydney for our last few days. On a boat trip with some family members, we look across the shimmering orange water at the smothered city. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for my friends, who have been in the midst of it all for almost half a year. I cannot truly comprehend how it has affected them, either physically or emotionally. I think back to the deep blue skies I have seen here before, whilst looking up at the dirty, brown sky. It is a devastating reminder to me that climate change is not something that can be ignored. Although I have had an amazing time, I wonder: am I part of the problem?

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