Wild spring heat and gale-force winds spark fires and chaos across Australia and New Zealand
Immediate impact
- Advertisement -
Wild, hot winds sweeping from Australia’s interior into the southeast fanned dozens of bushfires and pushed spring temperatures to record highs in parts of Sydney, authorities said, as New Zealand faced rare “red” wind warnings and fires of its own across the Tasman.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said a powerful plume of hot air that built over the outback on Monday was moving across the southeast, producing a spring heatwave. In Sydney, thermometers topped 37°C in spots — unusually high for October — and forecaster Angus Hines warned the warmth was strikingly out of season. “It is still spring and we are seeing these incredibly warm temperatures,” he said.
The gusting winds, reported at up to 100 km/h in parts of New South Wales, heightened bushfire danger. State authorities reported 36 fires burning, nine of them uncontained, and nearly 2,000 properties without power as crews worked to protect communities.
- Fires burning in New South Wales: 36 (nine uncontained)
- Power outages reported in Australia: almost 2,000 properties
- Sydney temperatures: above 37°C in parts
- New Zealand wind gust forecasts: up to 150 km/h along South Island east coast, up to 140 km/h around Wellington
On Bondi Beach, retiree Tony Evans, visiting from England, told a reporter he was taken aback by the heat-carrying wind. “It’s really hot and what surprised me is the temperature of the wind, it’s just no cooling effect and actually it seems like it’s a heating effect and it’s too warm to be comfortable,” he said.
New Zealand battered: rare red warnings and a death
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s MetService issued rare red wind warnings — reserved for the most extreme weather — for central and southern regions. Firefighters battled blazes near Kaikōura on the South Island and in Hawke’s Bay on the North Island, with at least five homes among the properties destroyed so far.
Authorities have declared a state of emergency for Canterbury to speed up the response to the severe weather. MetService warned gusts could reach as high as 150 km/h along the east coast of the South Island and up to 140 km/h around Wellington on Tuesday, with heavy rain expected in some areas.
The violent weather has already had tragic consequences: thousands lost power after strong winds and heavy rain, and a man was killed in a Wellington park when a tree branch fell on him.
Authorities urge caution
Emergency services in both countries urged people to stay indoors, avoid non-essential travel and prepare for possible power and communications outages. New South Wales issued several total fire bans, and rural fire crews have been working around the clock to defend homes and infrastructure.
Retail giant Ingka, parent company to IKEA, confirmed fires had burned pine trees that were being grown for furniture production in New Zealand, but said the damage would not affect its global supply chain.
Context and wider implications
Although Australia’s formal fire season typically runs from November through February, climatologists and emergency planners say changes in temperature and weather patterns are blurring seasonal lines, lengthening the period of risk. Fire seasons that start earlier and end later have become a familiar refrain from scientists tracking a warming planet.
These events come as other parts of the world confront similar climate-linked extremes — longer wildfire seasons in the western United States, increasingly intense heatwaves across Europe, and explosive fire events in Mediterranean regions. Together they raise hard questions about infrastructure resilience and how communities adapt to a changing climate.
Are emergency services keeping pace with longer and more volatile fire seasons? Can the region’s electric grid and communications networks be hardened quickly enough to avoid cascading failures during compound events: heat, wind, and wildfire? And how will governments balance immediate response needs with longer-term planning for adaptation?
On-the-ground strains
Fire crews are being stretched thin, battalions shuttled between blazes as gusts shift and spot fires ignite in new places. Rural communities — often the least resourced and most exposed — are being asked to act as their own first responders while waiting for reinforcements and aerial support.
Local preparedness messages have shifted from “be ready” to “act now” as conditions deteriorate. Power companies say they have crews staged for restoration work, but cautioned that extreme winds and damaged roads could slow access to some areas. For residents, the immediate tasks are practical and urgent: move vehicles and flammable materials away from properties, secure loose outdoor items, and have evacuation plans and emergency kits ready.
What to watch
- Containment updates from state fire authorities in New South Wales and New Zealand civil defence briefings.
- MetService and the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts for wind and rainfall shifts — these will determine where fires will spread or be contained.
- Power restoration timetables from utilities as crews attempt to reach and repair damaged lines.
The season is a stark reminder that extreme weather now arrives with less predictability and more ferocity than many communities are used to. As Australia and New Zealand grapple with immediate danger, the wider question remains: how will societies redesign systems to withstand a more volatile climate, and how quickly can they do it?
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
