The Climate Council already warned us in February that Australia was “primed to burn” this summer. 

But just how bad are things likely to get in NSW and Victoria? Are we likely to see a return to the destruction of the Black Summer fires of nearly four years ago, which burnt millions of hectares of land in NSW and killed at least 34 people? 

Or are the conditions ripe for an event like the Black Saturday fires in Victoria, 15 years ago, which killed 173 people? 

Today, national science reporter Liam Mannix and science reporter Angus Dalton on the new risk factors, this year. And why the current weather conditions, perfect for bushfires, have become the new normal.