豪州南部で４０度超え、熱波と気温上昇で森林火災悪化の恐れ

【シドニーＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストラリア南部サウスオーストラリア州で30日、気温が40度を超え、森林火災の発生しやすい複数の地域で火災警報が発令された。森林火災に見舞われた同国南東部は今後数日のうちに熱波に襲われると予想されており、火災の悪化が懸念されている。（写真は資料写真）
　３１日にはメルボルンや首都キャンベラで熱波が予想されており、週末にはシドニーの一部で４５度超えが予想されている。
　当局は、燃えるような暑さと乾いた風により、南東部ニューサウスウェールズ州とビクトリア州の一部で深刻な森林火災が発生しやすくなると警告。この２州では現在も８０か所以上で火災が続いている。
　ビクトリア州の緊急管理局長は、「ここ数日間はいくらか落ち着いて穏やかな状況の恩恵にあずかっていたが、（天気は再び）暑く乾燥するようだ」と述べ、住民に火災への備えを呼び掛けた。
　オーストラリアの一部地域ではここ数週間、巨大なひょうや洪水、地滑りなどの異常気象に見舞われている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/01/31-10:15）

Australia was bracing for a heatwave to sweep across the country's fire-ravaged southeast in the coming days, with the forecast stoking fears the soaring temperatures could inflame bushfires.
Temperatures reached above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday in South Australia state, where dangerous fire weather warnings were issued in several bushfire-prone areas.
The heatwave is then expected to hit Melbourne and Canberra on Friday before parts of Sydney reach 45 degrees Celsius on the weekend.
Authorities say the searing heat, accompanied by dry winds, would bring severe bushfire conditions to parts of New South Wales and Victoria -- where more than 80 fires are still burning across the two states.
We've had the benefit of some suppressed, benign conditions over the last few days. However, as we've heard, it's going to be hot and dry, Victoria Emergency Services Commissioner Andrew Crisp said, urging residents to be prepared for bushfires to flare.
If you're gonna wait until you see the smoke or the fire at your doorstep, it's far too late. You've gotta get out early, he said.
Storms are forecast to follow the heatwave, bringing rain that could help dampen fires but also the potential for wild weather, including flash flooding.
Extreme weather has battered parts of Australia in recent weeks, bringing giant hail, floods and landslides.
The renewed fire threat came as worst-hit New South Wales announced an inquiry into the catastrophic bushfire season, which has left at least 32 people dead and devastated vast swathes of the country since September.
The scale of these fires has been unprecedented and we must leave no stone unturned, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
This inquiry will allow NSW to learn from this season and the catastrophic conditions we've faced, and apply these learnings for the future.
That comes on top of a Royal Commission inquiry announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier in January.
The months-long crisis has sparked renewed calls for Australia's conservative government to take immediate action on climate change, with street protests urging Morrison to reduce the country's reliance on coal.
Scientists say the bushfire disaster was exacerbated by climate change, coming on the back of a crippling drought that turned forests into a tinderbox and allowed blazes to spread out of control quickly.
While the prime minister belatedly acknowledged the link between the bushfire disaster and a warming planet, he has said his government would focus on climate adaption and building resilience instead of measures to cut emissions.