Observatoire des droits humains (anglais seulement)

When bushfires make their own weather

(Version anglaise seulement)

par Jason Sharples, Professor of Bushfire Dynamics, School of Science, UNSW Canberra, UNSW Sydney
Andrew Dowdy, Principal Research Scientist in Extreme Weather, The University of Melbourne
Luke Burgess, PhD Candidate, Weather and Fire Extremes, The University of Melbourne
Todd Lane, Professor, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, The University of Melbourne

Bushfires are strongly driven by weather: hot, dry and windy conditions can combine to create the perfect environment for flames to spread across the landscape.

But sometimes the relationship flips: fires can generate their own weather systems, which can then dramatically alter the spread and intensity of the blaze.

One of the most striking examples of this phenomenon is the formation of pyrocumulonimbus clouds — towering storm clouds born from fire.

How can a fire make winds and clouds?

Large bushfires release enormous amounts of energy – sometimes…

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