Climate Change Australia and Indonesia

As Australia is currently engulfed in flames and Indonesia is drowning, it has become impossible to ignore the effects of climate change on our planet.

Although the fires in Australia are just now gaining worldwide media attention, the bushfires began as early as July. It is typical for Australia to face a couple fires during its dry summer seasons; however, according to CNN, “Experts say climate change has worsened the scope and impact of natural disasters like fires and floods… the fires have been starting earlier in the season and spreading with greater intensity.”

Not only is climate change killing the environment, which will kill us in the future, but it is affecting the lives of people right now. 3,000 homes in New South Wales, an area in Australia that has been hit the hardest, have been destroyed, and there have been at least 28 deaths nationwide and counting, according to CNN.

While fires are a drastic effect of climate change in dry weather, Indonesia is going through the exact opposite situation. What began as heavy rain on New Year’s Eve has quickly turned into landslides and flooding, which have displaced around 36,000 civilians in Jakarta and have killed 66 civilians so far, according to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance.

In order to visually explain the amount of rain that has fallen on Indonesia, Elisa Sutanudjaja, director of the Jakarta-based Rujak Center for Urban Studies, explained to TIMEthat, “The equivalent of 72,000 Olympic-size swimming pools came pouring down on Jakarta on New Year’s Eve.”

These fires and floods are present-day effects of climate change, and while places like the US have not been so drastically affected by it yet, it is very probable that these conditions will begin to worsen at a quicker pace.

There are thousands of people living in parts of the world without the resources to survive as the effects of climate change worsen. If you are interested in helping the lives of these people and wish to support causes that actively combat climate change, some organizations accepting donations are Save The Children, Indonesia Dermawan, the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal in Australia (frrr.org.au), and the Climate Emergency Fund. Of course, these are just a few resources and organizations accepting donations. If there are certain causes you want to support – for example, if you wish to donate specifically to the firefighters in New South Wales or specifically to rural communities in Indonesia – one Google search and some background research can help you out.

We all must do our part to fight climate change and support those being affected by it.