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Australia's 'insurance' koala population halved by bushfires
Massive bushfires have flared up in the vast country's southeast in a months-long crisis, killing nearly half a billion native animals in New South Wales state alone.
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Australia urges people to flee as fires set to surge at weekend
Weather officials on Friday rated the danger from fire “very high” to “extreme” in most districts in South Australia, with a similar outlook for New South Wales and Victoria on Saturday.
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Military evacuates fire-hit Australian town
At least 20 people have died, dozens are missing, and almost 500 homes have been destroyed, in an unprecedented months-long bushfire crisis that has torched an area roughly double the size of Belgium.
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Thousands flee fires in Australia, navy helps evacuate the stranded
Fuelled by searing temperatures and high winds, more than 200 fires are burning across the southeastern states of New South Wales and Victoria, threatening several towns.
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Australia orders evacuation of fire-ravaged towns before heatwave
Visitors are being warned to leave affected areas before Saturday, when another heatwave is expected to sweep across the country, with gusting winds and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
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World welcomes 2020, but wildfires, protests, cast a pall over some celebrations
In Australia, a million revellers thronged Sydney harbour and nearby districts to watch more than 100,000 fireworks explode above the city, even as thousands of people along the country’s eastern seaboard sought refuge from the bushfires on beaches.
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NZealand look to salvage pride in smoky Sydney
The issue of smoke is a difficult one for officials, who currently rely on a mix of air quality guidelines from the International Cricket Council, state governments and the Australian Institute of Sport.
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Australia scrambles to reach thousands stranded by bushfires
Deadly bushfires ripped through popular tourist spots and rural areas, leaving at least eight people dead.
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Australian firefighters spend Christmas Day containing blazes
Christmas Day offered cooler conditions in many parts of the country as firefighters, many of them volunteers, spent the day trying to contain blazes.
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Australian firefighters access badly burned towns; PM defends climate policies
The reprieve came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended both his government’s climate change policies and his decision to go on holiday to Hawaii last week.
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Lewis, the rescued koala, dies
A koala bear whose rescue drew the world's attention to devastating Australian bushfires has died. Ellenborough Lewis, as the bear was named, was put to sleep by veterinarians on Tuesday because he couldn't recover from his injuries, the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital said in a Facebook post.
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Australian PM denies climate link as smoke chokes Sydney
His comments came after weeks spent refusing to speak about the link between climate change and deadly fires described by the emergency services as unprecedented in number and scale for the early bushfire season.
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Schools close across Australia's south as bushfire threat looms
On Wednesday, attention shifted from the east coast to South Australia state, where officials lifted the fire danger warning to “catastrophic”, with temperatures poised to hit 42°C and strong winds also forecast.
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Australia braces for heavy winds, lightning amid bushfire threat
The country’s weather bureau warned that winds and lightning strikes increase the threat to communities across two states on the country’s east coast.
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Bushfires rage across Australia’s east coast
Australia is enduring its worst-ever bushfire crisis, with officials describing it as ‘catastrophic’.
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'Too late to leave': Australians take shelter from intense bushfires
Officials issued 11 emergency warnings in New South Wales (NSW), each covering several communities, as more than half the 71 fires across the state burned uncontrolled amid “catastrophic” conditions.
