Australia is on fire, and it's bigger than you think. 12.35 million acres of land have been burned by bushfire so far. That's almost twice the size of Belgium and three times more land in the 2018 California fires and Brazil's 2019 Amazon fire combined. Flames have reportedly reached 70 meters high—that's taller than the Sydney Opera House.
澳洲野火肆虐，延燒範圍超乎想像。目前野火已經燒毀 1,235 萬英畝的土地。這相當於比利時土地面積的兩倍、2018 年加州大火加上 2019 巴西亞馬遜大火焚燒面積的三倍以上。據稱，野火燃燒高度高達七十公尺－－比雪梨歌劇院還要高。
At least 19 people have been killed, and more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed. Residents and tourists have been forced to relocate.
至少有 19 名民眾在野火中喪生，超過 1,400 個家庭被燒毀。居民和遊客都被迫遷移。
Just get out while we can.
只能在我們逃得出來的時候趕快走。
Nearly 500 million animals have died in New South Wales alone.
光是新南威爾斯州就有將近五億隻動物喪生。
The fires aren't just in one location; they're raging everywhere across the country. So, what ignited this deadly crisis?
野火燃燒的地點不只一處；蔓延至整個國家。到底是什麼原因點燃了這場致命危機？
Well, bushfire season is nothing new in Australia, but this summer has been one of the hottest and driest in the country's history. Since September, the combination of drought, unprecedented heat waves, and strong gusty winds has created a recipe for disastrous fire conditions. On top of that, the smoke from bushfires generates its own weather, sparking thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds, which create even more wildfires.
澳洲野火季其實並不罕見，但今年夏天可說是澳洲史上最炎熱、乾燥的一次。九月以來，澳洲頻頻發生乾旱，更有空前熱浪與強烈陣風來襲，這些原因導致了這場致命野火。更嚴重的是，野火產生的灰煙形成獨有天氣，導致雷雨不斷，夾帶閃電與強風，又使野火更加猖獗。
Scientists have been predicting such extreme weather for years, warning that bushfires will become even more frequent as climate change worsens. Although the weather has cooled slightly in parts of Australia, authorities say with months of summer left, the worst is yet to come.
科學家好幾年來都預測會有這樣的極端氣候產生，並警告大家，隨著氣候變遷惡化，野火會更加猖獗。雖然澳洲某些地方氣溫已經稍微降低，但專家表示，夏天還有幾個月才結束，更慘的狀況還在後頭。
