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Effects of the Australia fire

The Australia fire has burned for more than a hundred days. The British Broadcasting

Corporation (2020) reported that the fire covered 10 million hectares and has killed 30 people.

It has burned 2500 houses and thousands of animals. The choking smoke covered cities so

that 4 billion Australians had to leave their homes. The fire has caused pollution, health

problems, and increased the possibility of animal extinction. It has also caused several bad

changes in economic and political fields. More and more people care about this fire.

Therefore, this essay will state these impacts to emphasize the urgency of the fire.

The fire has resulted in pollution and a lot of health problems. It has destroyed more

than 10 million hectares of trees. The burning trees released chemical gases like

nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide. High nitrogen and carbon content caused gas pollution.

Overloaded nitrogen content is harmful to people’s health. The nitrogen particles are too small

to be filtered by masks, so people are forced to breathe them. This can cause difficulty

breathing, pneumonia and even sudden death. Though high carbon content cannot hurt people

directly, it can lead to a decrease in oxygen content. This causes chest congestion and

breathing difficulties. Carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide can also dissolve in water, forming

acid rain. Acid rain erodes buildings’ surface and mars humans’ skin. When the rain flows into

rivers, it causes water pollution, too. People who drink this water may suffer from asthma and

pharyngitis. Things can be more serious. Sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide can mix with

the atmosphere. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2020) stated that “once in

the stratosphere, the smoke can travel thousands of miles from its source, affecting

atmospheric conditions globally”. It’s more than an Australian disaster. Everyone around the
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world is subject to these pollutions. The bright flame led to light and noise pollution. The

bright sky at night and the crackle caused sleep disorders and anxiety psychosis. It is a long

time for people to recover from these mental disorders

The fire has also hurt wildlife. It has killed 480 million animals and destroyed a lot of

habitats. Because sloths move slowly, they are the biggest victim of the fire. At least two

thousand sloths have died. Most of the surviving sloths were hurt too seriously to migrate

anymore. They will have a harder time as the fire spreads. Animals with quick movement

cannot be lucky either. Hundreds of falcons and parrots lost their way because of the dense

smoke. Although some animals survived the fire, they could not find food. The government

has air-dropped hundreds of carrots in the fire area. However, most of the animals still starved

to death while some others died in the fight for food. Only one-tenth of these animals

survived the fire. The fire has destroyed many habitats as well. One-third of Kangaroo Island

has been burned. One-third of the koala habitat has been destroyed. The water, grass, bushes,

and trees were all gone. It will take hundreds of years to rebuild these habitats. Therefore,

animals alive now can only live in zoos or even outskirts of Sydney and Melbourne. One-

fourth of these animals died of maladjustment to the new environment. Kingsley Dixon

(2020), a biology scientist at Curtin University, announced that “we will have taken many

species that weren’t threatened close to extinction, if not to extinction”. Besides the massive

deaths in the fire, the animals will have another hard time after the fire. Many animals lose

reproductive ability in a long time. When mature animals die, the population of animals will

decrease again. More animals will be endangered.

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The fire has harmed the economy. It cost a lot of money and decreased commercial

opportunities. The government spent a lot on stopping the fire from spreading. It took 20

million Australian dollars to rent aircrafts. It also cost 50 million Australian dollars to

establish a resident office. Another 2 billion Australian dollars will be spent to rebuild the

disaster area. The government also needs to afford living expenditure for homeless animals

and injured people. The fire reduced future financial opportunities. According to Roy Morgan

(2020), the consumer confidence index increased by 3.4% on average in the first week of

January between 2010 and 2019. However, the index fell from 116 in 2019 to 107 in 2020.

It’s the lowest in the last four years. It means that people will buy fewer things in the future.

Many factories have to shut down. As a result, there will be an inevitable drop in Australian

output. Fewer tourists will come to Australia. There will be less money liquidity and money

inflow.

The fire has caused bad political effects. For one side, it decreased the credibility of

the president and government. While the fire was spreading quickly, the leaders of Australia

enjoyed the fireworks in Sydney. The president of Australia even took a vacation to Hawaii.

These trips indicate that the government leaders did not focus on the fire. As Spencer Bokat-

Lindell (2020) said, “the response of Australia’s leaders to this unprecedented national crisis

has been not to defend their country but to defend the fossil fuel industry, a big donor to both

major parties”. Many people opposed the government leaders, criticizing that they only

consider their power. The opinion-poll ratings of the president fell to an all-time low. For

another side, the fire influenced the international image of Australia as well. The government

of Australia was condemned by many international public opinions. For instance, according to
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Paul Krugman (2020), the response of the Australian government showed a road to hell. The

Guardian (2020) also accused Morrison's government of covering up the affair at the

beginning of the fire. 

This brushfire has caused the pollution and related health problems, the decline of

animals’ population, the bad impact on economics, the distrust of domestic and overseas

people. These bad impacts will affect not only Australia, but also the whole world. Some

people may argue that the fire also brings some advantages. The fire can refresh decayed

plants and weeds out inferior populations. It accelerates the energy circle for the forest

ecosystem. It also reduces diseases and pests. However, this time the brushfire is too massive

and terrible. It’s absolutely out of control. As the burning continues, these bad influences

would become more and more serious. Therefore, the Australia government should be aware

of the awful consequence, sending more rescue teams to the fire. The international

organizations need to urging the Australian government and disseminate the terrible results to

the public. The People around the world should pay attention to the fire, donating devote

money and food. All of us should join together to prevent the fire.
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