Australia has always had bad bushfires

Myth:

Australia has had bushfires in the past that were far worse than the ones today. The 1974-75 fires burnt 117,000,000 hectares, which is six times as much as the fires of 2019-20. 

Fact:

The fires of 1974-75 were mostly of grassland in the Northern Territory and Queensland. The authorities didn’t even know they had occurred till after the fact. The 2019-20 fires were in forested areas and were four times more damaging than the previous worst such conflagration.

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Sources:

Liz Williams, “The worst bushfires in Australia’s history,” Australian Geographic, 3/11/11

Jack Guy, “Nearly three billion animals killed or displaced by Australia’s fires,” CNN, 28/7/20

Graham Readfearn, “Australia’s bushfire season has grown by almost a month in 40 years, study finds,” The Guardian, 1/7/22