EndemicEarthling<p>All the smoke around Sydney this week is from hazard reduction burns. i.e. controlled burns conducted by the rural fire service to mitigate this summer's bushfire's risk, which has been assessed as particularly high, after three very wet La Ninã years and with a likely El Niño developing.</p><p>The <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/RFS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RFS</span></a> is way behind schedule on this due to all the rain and other complicating factors causing many delays. With temperatures topping 30ºC this weekend, they are rushing to get as much done as they can before the window closes.</p><p>Speaking of which, make sure all your windows are closed.</p><p>It's a nasty trade-off: to reduce the risk of a climate disaster hitting hard this summer, we conduct an activity with its own risk of air quality for five million people dropping into the toilet for a week. These days of bad air (and even worse nights) will result in premature deaths, increased hospitalisations, and some long-term damage to everyone's respiratory health (esp children).</p><p>Once more, given the direct impacts on air quality and the long-term global worsening of <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/wildfire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>wildfire</span></a> risk, this moment is another salutary reminder that <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/DirtyEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DirtyEnergy</span></a> sends our future up in smoke.</p><p><a href="https://todon.eu/tags/NSWpol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NSWpol</span></a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/BushfireRisk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BushfireRisk</span></a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/bushfire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>bushfire</span></a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/ElNino" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ElNino</span></a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/ClimateImpacts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateImpacts</span></a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/ClimateDisruption" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateDisruption</span></a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/Auspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Auspol</span></a><br>3/3</p><p>EDIT: added climate context.</p>