The majority of communities in east and northeast Australia have been terrorised by intense bushfires, and many have attributed its ignition to climate change.

Fires claimed lives and razed homes

The bushfires have been raging out of control in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland since September 2019.

While Australia is typically prone to bushfires in the warmer spring and summer months, the recent and ongoing bushfires have thus far been the most intense on record.

In NSW, a record-breaking 17 emergency warnings were issued, and the blazes given a "catastrophic" fire rating by the NSW Rural Fire Service, reported Express.co.uk.

The rating represents the highest level of bushfire danger.

Thus far, about one million hectares of forest and land have been razed and around 367 homes destroyed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4MaiynHzyK/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4zkd3fHYrU/

#AUSTRALIAFIRES #nswbushfire HEY WORLD OUR COUNTRY IS LITERALLY GOING UP IN FLAMES ! Not sure why this isn’t getting as much coverage as the Californian fires that just recently happened but people are dying here, communities and houses have been burnt to the ground!!!! pic.twitter.com/RwDyUmbtv9

— ᴬ (@reketic98) November 12, 2019

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4G2o3PHbSa/

The blazes have also claimed the lives of four people.

The fires have also caused hundreds of schools to close and widespread evacuations, reported BBC.

In the meantime, towns and suburbs in the vicinity have been blanketed by thick smoke.

Limited visibility in Taree this morning as thick smoke blankets the NSW Mid Coast city @newscomauHQ #NSWbushfires pic.twitter.com/HmS1M4VHOY

— James Hall (@James_P_Hall) November 11, 2019

Government dismissing climate change

The devastation wrought by the fires have sparked anger over Australia's tame climate change policies.

With 2017 and 2018 being the third and fourth-hottest years on record, many local residents have attributed the bushfires to climate change, reported BBC.

Meanwhile, Australia's conservative government is leading a crackdown on environmental activism against the coal sector.

The country's prime minister Scott Morrison was criticised recently for refusing to address the problem of climate change and relate it to the ongoing bushfires, AFP reported.

Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack also dismissed locals' climate change concerns on live radio as the "ravings of some pure, enlightened and woke capital city greenies".

McCormack stated that what the country should be focusing on was the plight of the victims.

Additionally, a coalition of former fire chiefs alleged that the government was ignoring their warnings that the climate crisis was exacerbating bushfires.

According to The Guardian, the coalition stated that they had been attempting to set up a meeting with Morrison since April this year as they "knew a bushfire crisis was coming", but had instead been locked out of discussions and forbidden from mentioning climate change.

Conditions expected to worsen

Emergency crews and firefighters are currently still working to contain and douse over 130 blazes around the country, Reuters reported.

And conditions are expected to worsen.

A heatwave was forecasted for the coming week, and with the area expected to receive little rainfall, fire chiefs warned that the conflagrations could last for weeks or even months.

Hot conditions will persist over the west and north of the country including inland QLD and into NE NSW over the weekend. Elevated fire dangers will continue in these areas. https://t.co/F0JYo8sIMb pic.twitter.com/moODIefe17

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) November 15, 2019

Related stories

Top photo from @reketic98 / Twitter