We just got back from a 6 week holiday up the centre of Australia from Canberra to Darwin and back via Adelaide. From Mataranka north there was almost constant smoke in the air from burning off. There is regular burn offs along both sides of all the roads as well as through all the National Parks depending on how often they are burnt. We saw fires in both Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks as well as on the road to Katherine Gorge. If you have asthma you should be prepared. We could smell smoke across the whole of the north part of the Territory and it got into the air conditioning system.
Wanda said
07:20 PM Jul 14, 2022
Yep thats pretty normal for this time of year in the NT, not good for people with chest/lung issues
Good to warn people so they can prepare if going that way
Ian
86GTS said
04:33 AM Jul 15, 2022
They used to burn the bush up there around every 3 years in days gone by but now they burn it every year.
I read somewhere that its something to do with an indigenous agreement, carbon credits & Qantas Airlines.
Burning it so often has reduced the biodiversity enormously, many species have disappeared completely.
The last three times that we've been up that way, everything is either charcoal or on fire.
Its gone from a patchwork of seasonal environmental burns to nuke the lot.
Cupie said
11:18 AM Jul 15, 2022
I can still recall the view from a friend's Beechcraft Bonanza, when returning to Darwin at night after a weekend at Gove in about June 1976.
The whole area was lit up with a patchwork of perhaps thousands of spot fires from small scale burning off.
We just got back from a 6 week holiday up the centre of Australia from Canberra to Darwin and back via Adelaide. From Mataranka north there was almost constant smoke in the air from burning off. There is regular burn offs along both sides of all the roads as well as through all the National Parks depending on how often they are burnt. We saw fires in both Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks as well as on the road to Katherine Gorge. If you have asthma you should be prepared. We could smell smoke across the whole of the north part of the Territory and it got into the air conditioning system.
Good to warn people so they can prepare if going that way
Ian
I read somewhere that its something to do with an indigenous agreement, carbon credits & Qantas Airlines.
Burning it so often has reduced the biodiversity enormously, many species have disappeared completely.
The last three times that we've been up that way, everything is either charcoal or on fire.
Its gone from a patchwork of seasonal environmental burns to nuke the lot.
I can still recall the view from a friend's Beechcraft Bonanza, when returning to Darwin at night after a weekend at Gove in about June 1976.
The whole area was lit up with a patchwork of perhaps thousands of spot fires from small scale burning off.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-18/why-are-there-so-many-fires-burning-the-top-end-black-every-year/10238998
Yep, one of the few places I could live outside Adelaide but the smoke does get a bit much at times.
Still, Darwin/smoke or Adelaide/freezing, no brainer really hey!
Ian