At the end of last year and the start of this year, Australia has been suffering from wildfires all over the country.  At least 27 million acres have been burned in the country. The fires in New South Wales (NSW) have been the worst in the country. The causes were because of  prolonged droughts, extreme heat, and strong winds. This season has been the worst for the country with record – breaking temperatures over the past couple of months. 

Australia has issued a state of emergency. The firefighters are mainly made up of volunteers, many volunteers had to forgo not going to work for various weeks. Roads heading into people’s towns have been closed due to the fires. 

The fires have caused many deaths, sources say since January 13th twenty – eight people have died and more than 3,000 houses have been damaged by the fires. Major cities in the country such as Melbourne and Sydney have been affected too. 

One of the most talked about things about the fires are the animals that is being affected by it. Approximately 244 different species of mammals only are from Australia. Before the wildfires had happened the diversity of the life of the animals were already in threat and with the fires it has caused an even more threatening because of habitat destruction and climate change. Many ecologists are worried about the severe ecological consequences of so much land being burned. Another effect of the fires is the smoke. Smoke can be a very bad hazardous chemical to take in. The smoke from the fires can cause exacerbation of respiratory because of fine particles and soot that are less than two point five micrometer tiny. These fine particles can lead to heart and lung disease.