Australia Wildfires

About wildfires in Australia

Australia is one of the most fire-prone continents on Earth, with bushfire season a defining feature of its climate. The 2019-2020 "Black Summer" bushfires were unprecedented in scale, burning over 18 million hectares, destroying 5,900 buildings, killing 34 people, and an estimated 3 billion animals.

New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia face the highest bushfire risk. The combination of eucalyptus forests (which contain flammable oils), extreme heat, drought, and strong winds creates conditions for catastrophic fire behavior. Climate change is making fire seasons longer and more severe.

Our real-time tracker monitors all fire hotspots detected by NASA satellites across Australia's six states and two territories, providing essential information for emergency services.