Australians fighting the devastating wildfires ravaging the country have been given a “welcome reprieve” after rain fell and temperatures dropped. However, Australia’s Prime Minister has warned that the devastating blaze could continue for months to come, with other officials adding the current conditions were just a “small break” from the ongoing disaster. Incredible satellite images from both NASA and NOAA revealed that the overwhelming scale of the bushfires could be seen from space.
The huge smoke clouds billowing from the Australian fires were picked up by satellites, with one cloud on the east coast bigger than the area of the continental United States.
Radar images from NASA even showed smoke from the bushfires travelling as far as South America 12,000km away in less than a week.
On Sunday, sooty rain fell down across the east coast, from Sydney to Melbourne.
The sudden weather change meant that there were no emergency warnings in place.
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However, officials have warned that temperatures in fire-ravaged regions of Australia will rise again by Thursday.
Earlier today, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “There is no room for complacency.
“This morning it is all about recovery, making sure people who have been displaced have somewhere safe.”
Shane Fitzsimmons, commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, said Monday that the conditions were a “welcome reprieve”.
At the weekend, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the crisis might go on for months.
The Prime Minister made the remarks as he announced the creation of a recovery agency to help those who have lost homes and businesses in the fires.
He said more than £53,000 would be released for disaster relief with more than £1bn committed to recovery over the next two years.
At least 24 people have died since the fires began in September, with air quality in the capital Canberra recently rated as the worst in the world.
The Australian federal government department responsible for managing emergencies even shut its Canberra office due to poor air quality on Monday.