Latest news from Australia’s bushfire crisis keeps flooding in, and none of it looks promising. At the most recent estimate, an area of 186,000km² was known to have been burnt- close to the size of Great Britain. 34 fatalities have been recorded, and 5,900 buildings destroyed. At the New Year, a sampling of known data for select animal groups came out to a tentative figure of 1 billion animal deaths in the state of New South Wales, but projections made off this reveal 848 trillion to be a conservative figure of the number of lives Australia’s fauna has lost.

Many citizens have turned their anger towards Scott Morrison, recently elected Prime Minister, who has shown minimal action towards recovery efforts and future mitigation. A reluctant $2 billion AUD has been pledged for communities impacted by the events, versus the paltry $50 million AUD granted for the far greater task of wildlife preservation. Morrison failed to attend the World Economic Forum this past month, adding to his absence from the UN Climate Summit last year.

The cause of the fires is complex, further convoluted by media portrayals. Climate change certainly has its role, leading to higher temperatures, an ongoing severe drought, and already weakened faunal communities. But more significantly, poor fire management practices are to blame: insufficient controlled burns to reduce fuel load in the dry eucalypt forests has allowed material to accumulate, greatly exacerbating natural fires. Invasive plants make these fires burn at much higher temperatures, killing vegetation and animals alike as a result.

Following heavy rains off coastal New South Wales, the fire threat is greatest in the North-Eastern regions of the country, but with lingering presence nationally and a growing presence in Western Australia. For the latest fire locations and spread, see here.