The devastating fires that have ravaged
This is the sixth time in the past decade that a record year has immediately been surpassed in the following 12 months. A year ago the Australian state of
Experts agree that they are caused partly by droughts and higher temperatures brought by global warming, but they also point to conservation practices which have discouraged controlled burning of forests and caused a huge build-up of up to 30 of 40 tons of tinder dry kindling on each acre of ground.
Once lit by lightning, arson or human error, they produce 20ft flames and generate temperatures of up to 1,200C. At this intensity they generate their own winds. One such fire caused tornados near
Professor Stephen J Pyne, an expert at