FAR-REACHING EFFECTS

Australian Bushfire Smoke to Make Full Lap Around Globe

NASA said the smoke is expected to circle back into Australia’s sky from the west.

The smoke from the Australian bushfires is reportedly expected to circle the earth in a full lap, landing back in Australia’s sky from the west. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, NASA says the smoke will at least make one full circuit around Earth after it observed an “extraordinary amount of smoke injected into the atmosphere from the Australian fires and its subsequent eastward dispersal.” The smoke, blowing in the lower stratosphere, has reportedly darkened the snow on New Zealand’s mountains and has reached as far as Chile. The agency also said the “rare” bushfire-generated storms happening in Australia have been making the fire situation worse in the country. The fires have so far burned through over 12 million acres in New South Wales and 3 million acres in Victoria this fire season alone.