AFAC Spring Outlook Flags Elevated Bushfire Risk Across Most of Australia

Australia's peak fire agency body AFAC issued a spring seasonal outlook flagging increased bushfire risk across nearly every state and territory except the ACT, citing dry conditions in the east and elevated fuel loads in central and northern regions ahead of the intensifying El Niño. Southern Victoria and eastern Tasmania, south-east Queensland, north-eastern New South Wales, north-west South Australia, most of the Northern Territory, and parts of Western Australia were named as areas of concern. AFAC CEO Rob Webb urged communities to prepare proactively, while University of Tasmania's David Bowman warned that 'flash droughts' combined with high fuel loads could create 'extraordinarily dangerous conditions.'