2019–20 Australian bushfire season

A season of widespread wildfires across Australia, especially in southeastern regions, that became known as the Black Summer bushfires.

2019–20 Australian drought: A prolonged period of unusually low rainfall across much of Australia during 2017–2020. Dry fuels and water shortages intensified the conditions in which the bushfires spread.
Bushfire smoke and health: The effects of smoke from vegetation fires on human health, especially through inhaled fine particles. Smoke from the season reached cities and exposed millions to hazardous air pollution.
2019 Australian heat waves: Periods of exceptional heat across Australia during 2019. Record-breaking heat preceded and accompanied the most severe fire activity.
Gospers Mountain megafire: A large 2019–20 wildfire in New South Wales that burned more than one million hectares. It became one of the largest single fires recorded in Australian history.
Attribution of extreme weather: The study of how human-caused climate change alters the likelihood or intensity of specific weather events. Researchers distinguish climate influence on fire weather from the many immediate causes of individual fires.
Fire weather: Atmospheric conditions that influence the ignition, behavior, and spread of wildfires. High temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds helped drive dangerous fire behavior.
2019–20 Australian bushfire wildlife losses: Deaths, injuries, and habitat losses among wildlife during Australia's 2019–20 bushfire season. Fires killed or displaced animals and damaged habitats across large areas.
Indian Ocean Dipole: A climate pattern driven by changing sea-surface temperature differences across the Indian Ocean. A strongly positive phase contributed to dry conditions over parts of Australia in 2019.
Kangaroo Island bushfires: Fires that burned large areas of South Australia's Kangaroo Island in December 2019 and January 2020. They devastated wildlife habitat and communities on a major conservation island.
Indigenous fire management: Practices through which Indigenous peoples use and care for fire within particular lands and cultural traditions. The season renewed discussion of Indigenous knowledge and its role in land and fire management.

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