>Blazing hillsides in Victoria, February 16, 1983. Australia experienced one of its worst-ever outbreaks of wildfires that day as extreme dry conditions and high winds whipped through the southeast of the country. An El Nino pattern had resulted in the driest winter and spring in eastern Australia since reliable measurements began to be kept in the 1870s and by February Victoria had received only 25% of its normal rainfall for the past year. The fires left left 75 persons dead, 3,700 buildings damaged or destroyed, 340,000 sheep and 18,000 cattle dead or needing to be put down due to the effects of burns or smoke inhalation. Not until the Black Saturday fires of 2009 would Australia experience a wildfire outbreak this severe again.
>>17415832alright but what's that got to do with the price of tea in China?
