Australia wildfires expected to burn for months to come
Anna Kooiman reports from Sydney on the conditions.
A patient sits down in my room and says, “it feels like there is an elephant sitting on my chest, I just cannot catch my breath when exerting myself, and I am up all night coughing.”
She is an otherwise healthy young person who has the occasional flare-up of asthma. However, her asthma, like that of many other Australians, is out of control due to the smoke and air pollution, which has reached hazardous levels.
Australia is burning – There are more than 135 fires burning and over 12 million acres have been destroyed. More than 2,000 homes are gone. Many lives have been lost – staggeringly half a billion animals have perished and 25 people are dead with even more missing. Hundreds more people have been injured.
Fires have been burning since September 2019 in different regions across Australia with the crisis significantly escalating since December 2019.
The government of the state of New South Wales recently declared a state of emergency after record-breaking temperatures and a prolonged drought that has exacerbated the fires.
This is not an Australia-only disaster, the bushfires have worldwide effects.
In mid-December, a NASA analysis revealed that the bushfires have emitted 306 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The smoke was visible all the way in New Zealand on New Year’s Day 2020 (a 4-hour flight away from Australia’s east coast!)
The World Health Organization has declared that climate change, air pollution, deforestation and acidification of the ocean are likely to have potent negative effects on our health. These wildfires will impact us all.
Bushfires have immediate health effects and will have detrimental effects on our health for years to come.
The immediate risks include serious burns, smoke inhalation, and extreme heat causing heat stress and dehydration.
The country is covered in smoke and ash even hundreds and thousands of miles away from the fires.
I have seen many patients needing treatment in my clinic. People most at risk are those that are very young or very old and those who have other health issues.
What about the long term effects of inhaling smoke? -- The fires will be ongoing for months by the time they are put out.
Several reports over the last few weeks have declared that the air quality index (AQI) in Sydney and other areas has reached as high as 12 times the hazardous level as these conditions are set to continue. – That’s some of the worst air quality we have ever seen!
Yes, P2/N95 masks, in theory, are effective against smoke but they have to be fitted properly in order to work. People who are most vulnerable are those who have pre-existing heart and lung problems.
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When it comes to health, many probably haven’t thought of the impact of having to stay inside every day and not get outside to play, run, do sport or go to the beach. Not to mention the people who have been directly affected by the fires, who may have survived but may have lost their homes, neighbors, businesses and loved ones. They will be impacted both physically and psychologically.
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A new mental disorder has been termed “climate anxiety.” This is anxiety specific to ecological disasters and threats to the natural environment such as pollution and climate change.
As doctors, we have already started to see patients presenting with serious mental health issues, whether it be because the bushfires have affected them directly or whether it is from the ongoing threats to our country.
The fires have touched us all. I have two colleagues who have lost their homes in the fires, and a respected surgeon died trying to protect his home.
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I personally felt that I really wanted to do something to help. My two daughters, my husband and I donated food and supplies to the firefighters working tirelessly to protect us, as well to the displaced families who have been directly affected by the fires. We also volunteered sorting and packaging the donations to prepare them to give to people in need.
We are devastated by what has happened to our country and what is happening in the world. The climate is really out of control. We all need to work together to protect our mental and physical health in the wake of this ongoing bushfire disaster in Australia.
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