The World has never seen anything like it : Australia’s summer of fire

The world has never seen anything like it.

Over five months, bushfires along the south-east coast of Australia have blackened an area bigger than Ireland. They have taken 33 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, shrouded cities in toxic smoke and devastated the country’s unique wildlife.

They have also changed how many Australians think about the climate crisis. What was, for many, an abstract idea set in a distant future has, in the space of one summer, begun to feel like a dystopian everyday reality. As leading researchers have observed, Australia is now "ground zero" in an unfolding catastrophe.

Guardian Australia has spoken to some of the millions of people touched by Australia's summer of dread. Here, we take you on a journey through some of the country's worst-affected areas.

And later this week we launch our new series The frontline: inside Australia’s climate emergency. From extreme heat to warming seas, Australia is experiencing the effects of the global climate crisis more rapidly than much of the world. The frontline shows what ground zero looks like for everyday Australians.

The Guardian 

The World has never seen anything like it : Australia’s summer of  fire