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An animation of the change in sea surface temperature departures from average in the tropical Pacific Ocean, from January 1 to June 8, 2026.

El Nino has officially begun, bringing risk of drought, extreme heat and bushfires

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the existence of the El Nino, expected to grow to historic strength and turbocharge extreme weather.

  • Seth Borenstein and Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Rio Crupi with his dog Angus on the spot where his house stood.

How this regional town became a caravan community

Dozens of houses burnt and farms destroyed. Can this community ever be the same again after one of the worst fires in its history?

  • Benjamin Preiss
West River farmer and Shire of Ravensthorpe deputy president Mark Mudie.

WA farmer who died fighting bushfire honoured at Kings Park memorial

Mark Mudie died when his front-end loader became engulfed in flames as he tried to set up a firebreak on his farm as a bushfire tore through WA’s south coast last year.

  • Cameron Myles
Computer animation modelling the 1997-1998 El Nino.

A ‘globally catastrophic’ super El Nino could form by spring

An El Nino typically associated with a hot, dry spring for Australia is likely to form towards the end of winter – and one model rates the chances of a rare super El Nino at 20-25 per cent.

  • Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Farmers Chris Dekkera, Brian Kelly and Michael Stubbe are worried about the response to rehabilitating land used for containment lines in the Longwood fire.

Fire breaks make for long and winding roads for burnt-out farmers

Farmers like Michael Stubbe fear their land is vulnerable to damage after containment lines were constructed to fight the Longford fire, but they’re still waiting for the CFA to make repairs.

  • Benjamin Preiss
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In this iconic image from the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, firefighter David Tree shares his water with an injured koala rescued from the scene, later nicknamed Sam.

Why a thirsty koala isn’t the feel-good story it seems

No matter how much we love them, the simple fact is: if koalas can’t climb trees, grab leaves and drink unaided, they won’t survive.

  • Margaret Gordon
Major General Andrew Freeman with Malaysian Army Major General Dato’ Azhan bin Hj Md Othman in Canberra last year.

Taxpayer funding pulled from disaster response team after allegations of fraud

Disaster Relief Australia was feted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and led by two of Australia’s most decorated military commanders.

  • Eryk Bagshaw
A property on fire as a bushfire rages in Beechina, east of Perth.

Mundaring blaze threat downgraded after 70 hectares burnt

Vision from the scene appears to show an abandoned house and a large shed engulfed by flames.

  • Hannah Murphy
Victoria’s bushfire protocols are operating at peak performance, in part due to the recommendations of Susan Pascoe and others in the Black Saturday Royal Commission.

How the lessons learnt from Black Saturday are saving lives

Though January’s bushfires scorched nearly as much land as Black Saturday, just one person was killed. Experts and survivors attribute this to several improvements, but warn we must always remain vigilant.

  • Angus Delaney