Australia: fears NSW bushfires could merge

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is evacuating people in the path of the fire and the area is in a state of emergency after blazes swept the region after the hottest September on record.

In a briefing on Monday morning, Commissioner of the New South Wales Fire Service Shane Fitzsimmons said that 58 blazes were still burning, with 14 out of control.

At least 200 homes have already been lost in the fires and more than 2,000 firefighters from all over eastern Australia have been called in to help fight the blazes.

Fire officials are considering the mandatory evacuation of up to 25 townships in the scenic Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

Forecasts for a return of hot, windy weather later this week has raised fears that three of the most dangerous blazes could join up to form a massive “mega-fire”, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

The links between the blazes and climate change caused by carbon emissions are complex and as the driest inhabited landmass on earth, deadly wildfires have been a perennial problem for Australia.

But a series of record-busting hot, dry conditions across the continent and an early start to the Southern Hemisphere summer has rekindled arguments on mankind’s impact on climate and what can be done to mitigate it.