2019 Was the Worst Year in a Century for Australia

In an annual environmental report, it has been revealed that 2019 was the worst year in Australia in a century. The amount of endangered species within the country as well as the number of days above 35C have each grown by 36% since 2000. The 2019 bushfires damaged vital ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots, including Blue Mountains, Gondwana Rainforest, Kangaroo Island and Eastern Gippsland. The greenhouse gas emissions of Australians are among the world's greatest, as the energy use per person is very high and coal is a major source of electricity. River flows decreased by 43% compared to the average between 2000 and 2018, leading to a massive loss in water storages and fish stocks, as well as record-low inundation in wetlands. Finally, poor protection of soils caused several dust storms in 2019. Extremely low levels of soil moisture also led to a loss in farming productivity.