New report tells grim story of heat, drought and fire

Image credit: Jamie Kidston, ANU - Record hot weather, drought and a devastating bushfire season in 2019 damaged our environment and natural resources on an unprecedented scale, according to the annual Australia's Environment Report. The lead author of the report, Professor Albert van Dijk from The Australian National University (ANU), said last year was neither an outlier nor the 'new normal'.   "Last year was just another step down on the continuing descent into an ever more dismal future - unless we finally take serious action," said Professor van Dijk from the Fenner School of Environment and Society. He also argues the global response to the coronavirus pandemic - which has overwhelmed health systems in many countries and smashed the world's economies - offers a silver lining, with a model of how humanity can tackle the climate change crisis.  "The COVID-19 crisis shows that we can take the local and global actions necessary once society understands the seriousness of a threat.  "Climate change is, in many ways, similar. It happens slower, but it also poses an existential threat: we already saw massive impacts last year.