The Bureau of Meteorology has recently announced a severe weather season between October-April 2025 with severe thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, flooding, heat waves and bushfires.
Over the warmer months, Australians will have an increased risk of severe and extreme heatwaves with hot nights making it harder to recover during the day. The hot weather systems can bring a higher fire danger risk, and the weather conditions influence the size, intensity and speed of bushfires and how dangerous they can be.
Dry grass, parched native shrubs, dead leaves and twigs are a fire’s basic fuel, and during droughts and in hot, windy weather, even large logs, the green leaves and smaller branches of large trees can become dry and flammable. Strong winds cause a fire to spread faster across the landscape, and a change in wind direction alters the course of the fire and broadens the fire front.
In some parts of Australia, lightning can precipitate bushfires.
The winds during thunderstorms can also make it difficult to predict the behaviour and movement of a bushfire, and large fires can also create their own thunderstorms. These thunderstorms can also cause more intense and dangerous bushfire behaviour.
While heavy rain might put out a fire, it can also make it difficult for firefighters to access burnt areas. Where fires have been intense, or happened over steep terrain, heavy rain might cause severe erosion and affect water quality when rivers carry ash and sediment.
The Bureau provides regular forecasts and warnings through their free website and app.
It’s easy to stay up to date with warnings, simply download the BOM Weather app and set up warning notifications to your phone or tablet.
For more information, visit www.bom.gov.au/australia/warnings.
