Could Dust Storms Bury Sydney, Australia?

Yet Another Dust Storm Shrouds Australia’s New South Wales

Less than a month ago, on September 22 – 24, 2009, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and much of New South Wales, Australia experienced 100 kph winds whipping up heavy dust storms followed by severe  thunderstorms.

Road traffic slowed down to a crawl, ferries canceled, flights diverted or canceled as dust storm shrouded Sydney, and suffocating haze forced the residents to stay indoors.

“This is unprecedented. We are seeing earth, wind and fire together,” said Australia’s Weather Channel presenter.

The storm was one of the worst dust storms in Australia.

There were more dust storms on the following days. Four days later, on September 26, another intense storm swept eastern Australia, covering much of Queensland and New South Wales across to the Pacific Ocean in a thick blanket of dust.

The dust storms are certain to continue. As temperatures rise, more droughts set in and the winds intensify, all of which trends have long been repeated, the question becomes one of not if, but when the dust storms would bury Sydney.

The dust storm that started the previous day had intensified by the time the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over on October 14, 2009. The large image, which encompasses a wider area, shows that the dust plume stretches tens of kilometers south of the area shown here. NASA Earth Observatory images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek. [Edited by FEWW]

How Much Dust Would  it Take?

Just how much dust would it take, and under what circumstances could it make Sydney uninhabitable?

FEWW Moderators have asked their friends at EDRO to provide a realistic estimate, the details of which would be posted here.

UPDATE

Here’s a link to a reply prepared by  EDRO TEAM:

How Large Is Your Dust Storm?

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SoCal End-to-End Corporate Arsons Blaze On!

3, 2, 1, Action: SoCal fires are using the same ‘template’ as the US unending wars

SoCal: New Bull Crap Fires Rage on!

A new blaze in the hills of Ventura County NW of Los Angeles has spread to nearly 7,000 acres moving towards the city of Moorpark.

An early snap of Guiberson Fire. About 150 fire crew were reportedly tackling  the blaze, which broke out in Ventura County between the towns of Fillmore and Moorpark, Tuesday morning. Photo: KABC. Image may be subject to copyright.

The fire, named Guiberson Fire, has “torched oil fields and threatened homes,” according to a report, though it’s not known how many structures are threatened.

The Guiberson fire threatens homes, ranches and farmland, among other structures, Bill Nash of the Ventura County Fire Department said. The Ventura County sheriff has reportedly called for voluntary evacuations  in rural sections of Moorpark which includes a number of  ranches, he said.

According to Nash several pipelines run below the brush-covered fields, though he’s unsure as to how many.

“Air tankers including a DC-10 jumbo jet and big helitankers bombarded the flames with retardant and water while hundreds of firefighters worked on the ground.” Another report said.

Another fire broke out in Riverside County, 40 miles east of Los Angeles, and burned from the city of Riverside into the city of Norco and toward adjacent Corona. Norco Fire Chief Jack Frye said the 120- to 150-acre fire was up to 60 percent contained and no homes had been lost despite gusts up to 45 mph.

Pile it on fire

LA Times quoted the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department as saying that the fire had started through “manure spontaneous combustion from a local ranch.”

Officials did not disclose exactly where the fire started or how. But spontaneous manure fires are fairly common in farm communities, often occurring during conditions of extreme heat. Temperatures around where today’s fire started near Fillmore topped 100 degrees, with wind gusts topping 50 mph.

Related Links:

• Calif Fires 2009 – Part 2 ‘We’re Watching You!’ [includes entries up to September 22, 2009]
• California Fires 09 – Part 3 ‘Pile on the Manure, Sheriff!’  [for entries dated after September 22, 2009]

Australian fires toll may exceed 200

The Australian govt. blames ‘arsonists’ for the worst bushfires in the country’s History

As the known death toll reaches about 120, and the bushfires incinerate up to 1,000 homes, the government blames ‘arsonists’ for starting the fires.

“We will throw the book at you if you are caught,” New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees reportedly said.

Below is a list of Australia’s  recorded death toll and property damage from bushfires (Source: BBC UK)

• February 16,  1983.  75 dead, 2,300 homes destroyed in “Ash Wednesday” bushfires in Victoria and South Australia
• January 8, 1969.  At least 22 dead, 230 homes lost in rural Victoria
• February 7,  1967.  62 dead, 1,300 homes destroyed in fires in Hobart, Tasmania
• January 13, 1939.   71 dead, 700 homes destroyed in “Black Friday” fires in Victoria
• February – March 1922.  60 died in Gippsland, eastern Victoria

Number of alleged arsonists arrested in the above incidents: NONE reported.

A bushfire burns in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, Victoria, Australia 07 February 2009. Authorities have issued urgent fire warnings to towns near a bushfire burning out of control east of Melbourne. EPA/ANDREW BROWNBILL. Image may be subject to copyright.

A total of 12 bushfires are burning out of control across Victoria, comprising about 26 blazes,  covering up to 225,000 hectare of land.

Bushfires in Southeast Australia

This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows multiple large fires (outlined in red) burning in Victoria on February 7. Huge plumes of smoke spread southeast, driven by fierce winds. The large version of the image shows a large dust storm blowing over interior deserts to the northwest. These fires sprang up and exploded in size in just a few short hours. The image captured by the Terra MODIS sensor just a few hours prior to this image showed no sign of these fires. Twice-daily images of southeastern Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

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A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal

Climate Change Wreaks Havoc in Australia, AND That’s Just Another Round of Starters

Scorching heatwave in southern Australia causes transport chaos by buckling rail lines and leaving thousands without power

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has forecast  six days of scorching temperatures [40-plus Celsius (104 Fahrenheit),] starting on Wednesday, for southern Australia, the hottest heatwave in 100 years.

Australian heatwave is the sort of weather scientists been warning about, said the Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.

Cloud: Latest Color Satellite Image (Infrared) – Satellite images taken in infrared show the temperatures of the underlying surface or cloud. The whiter areas indicate the cold cloud tops usually associated with deeper rain bearing clouds.

“Eleven of the hottest years in history have been in the last 12, and we also note, particularly in the southern part of Australia, we’re seeing less rainfall,” Wong said.

“All of this is consistent with climate change, and all of this is consistent with what scientists told us would happen.”

“Health officials in South Australia and Victoria have advised people to stay indoors, use air conditioners, and keep their fluids up.” But that’s easier said than done because  the electricity grid was overloaded leaving more than 10,000 homes were without power in southern Australia.

Rail lines in Melbourne buckled under intense heat and train services were canceled, stranding thousands of hot and angry commuters, the report said.

“Australia is in the grip of drought and total fire bans have been declared in southern Australia in the hope of preventing major bushfires. Small bushfires are burning in South Australia and Victoria and all national parks have been closed.”

Heatwave: Buckled train tracks on the Noarlunga line in Adelaide. (ABC TV). Image may be subject to copyright.

The extreme temperatures were threatening Melbourne’s parks and gardens, said Mayor Robert Doyle, reporting a 40 percent drop in soil moisture.

“The signs are there that our precious trees are struggling in this brutal weather,” said Doyle.

“Our parks staff have indicated a number of trees are defoliating and canopies are thinning. Once defoliation takes place it is very hard to save the tree,” said Doyle.

This is a sign of climate change, the climate change minister said.

Meanwhile fire crews continued to battle two fires south of the Latrobe Valley in Gippsland, which have burnt through 700 hectares of forest, grassland and private pine plantation around Darilmurla, Mirboo North and Boolarra, Victoria [state of Victoria is in southeastern corner of Australia,] which are still burning out of control. ABC News reported.

Dengue Fever

Australia’s warmer temperatures increase the risk of dengue virus spread by the dengue mosquito and the Asian Tiger mosquito. Fatal conditions caused by the dengue virus infection include dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue  shock syndrome (DF). See CDC site for more information. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/

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