Next 24 to 48 hours crucial for bushfire conditions in Australia: Scott Morrison

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday alerted his countrymen to listen evacuation messages as next 24-48 hours were difficult due to burning bushfires throughout the country. Initially confined to the New South Wales state, the bushfires are spread in almost every part of the country.

“The next 24-48 hours are going to be incredibly difficult for bushfire conditions. Please listen to the evacuation messages and follow the instructions of authorities,” said Scott Morrison in a statement on Friday. He further added, “Australians should be assured every possible resource is being committed to fighting these fires and supporting the communities affected in every possible way we can. We will get through this but we need to stay strong and stay together,”. 

The next 24-48 hours are going to be incredibly difficult for bushfire conditions. Please listen to the evacuation messages and follow the instructions of authorities. pic.twitter.com/wDVSNXL1QS

— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 3, 2020

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has cancelled his planned visit to India from January 12 to 16. Earlier, he had faced public ire and criticism from opposition for his holidays during the bushfires which caused the death of two firefighter volunteers. In his visit to India, Morrison was expected to finalize crucial defense related agreements on research and technology.

The current bushfires are being considered as the most disastrous in the history of Australia which have claimed the lives of 17 persons including two firefighting volunteers. These fires started in September and are spreading in other parts of the country due to hot weather. According to Australian authorities more than 12.35 million acres of forest land have been devastated, 1400 homes destroyed and thousands of people were evacuated. Besides, an innumerable number of wild animals were burnt alive. The environmental experts have estimated that the size of devastated forest land in the bushfires is almost equal to the Vermont province of the United States. If the total land devastated by three major forest fires of the year 2019 – California Fires (253,214 acre), Amazon Fires (2.24 million acres) and Australian Fires (12.35 million acres) – are summed up, the total area of the destroyed forest comes is larger than the size of Switzerland, Israel and Belgium.

According to the estimates of environmentalists in the University of New South Wales about 480 million animals were killed in these fires including 30 percent of the koala population. Morrison government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 28 percent by 2030 compared to the opposition Liberal Party’s 45 percent target.