"The key culprit of our current and expected conditions is one of the strongest positive Indian Ocean dipole events on record," he says. Des techniciens en scène d'incendie de la Sûreté du Québec devaient être dépêchés sur place vendredi afin d'enquêter sur l’incendie.

An average maximum of 40.9C was recorded on 17 December, broken a day later by 41.9C, both beating 2013's record of 40.3C.By the end of the month every state had measured temperatures above 40C - including Tasmania, which is usually much cooler than the mainland.The main climate driver behind the heat has been a positive The difference between the two temperatures is currently the strongest in 60 years.As a result, there has been higher-than-average rainfall and floods in eastern Africa and droughts in south-east Asia and Australia.Andrew Watkins, head of long-range forecasts at the bureau, said the dipole was crucial to understanding the heatwave. More than 1,600 firefighters are currently working to slow the spread of fires and shore up containment lines, the NSW Rural Fire Service says.Fires have raged near the Australian capital Canberra for weeks - at one stage shutting the city's airport as flames approached the perimeter. "And meteorologists warn that, for the moment, the intense weather and elevated fire risk in Australia is set to continue.

Two people and an estimated 25,000 koalas were killed when flames devastated Kangaroo Island in the state of South Australia on 9 January.The island is renowned for its unique mix of animal species - and there are fears it may never recover.Tens of thousands of farm animals, mainly sheep, were also killed in the fire on the island.Videos posted on social media showed efforts to rescue koalas which survived the blazes.Elsewhere in South Australia, the Cudlee Creek fire is reported to have destroyed more than 80 homes in the Adelaide Hills region in late December. Fires are also thought to have destroyed up to a third of the vines that provide grapes for the Adelaide Hills wine industry.Canberra has seen some of the worst smoke pollution, with air quality rated the third worst of all major global cities on 3 January, according to Swiss-based group AirVisual. Il fumo degli incendi in Australia sta generando cumulonembi, che provocano uragani di fuoco e scariche elettriche potentissime: «Siamo entrati nel Pyrocene» Australia broke its all-time temperature record twice in December. Le cause degli incendi in Australia riguardano una nuova linea ferroviaria? In the worst-hit state, New South Wales (NSW), fire has affected more than five million hectares, destroying more than 2,000 houses and forcing thousands to seek shelter elsewhere. These are external links and will open in a new windowAlthough recent cooler conditions and rain have brought some respite, more than 50 fires are still burning in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.Hot and windy conditions are forecast to return to many parts of New South Wales this weekend and authorities in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have declared a state of emergency as massive bushfires rage south of Canberra.At least 33 people have been killed - including four firefighters - and more than 11 million hectares (110,000 sq km or 27.2 million acres) of bush, forest and parks across Australia has burned.

An average maximum of 40.9C was recorded on 17 December, broken a day later by 41.9C, both beating 2013's record of 40.3C. Satellite images from 4 January showed the spread of smoke from fires in Victoria and NSW, which has affected air quality as far away as New Zealand.Although Australia has always had bushfires, this season has been worse than usual. Some blazes are still burning in the state and there are emergency warnings are in place.The military has sent troops, ships and aircraft to the region to help relocation and firefighting efforts. Sorry, your browser cannot display this map Australia broke its all-time temperature record twice in December. Intox sur l’origine de l’incendie de Notre-Dame de Paris.