Fire activity was close to normal despite an early start to the fire season.
Bushfires occurred mainly between August and October of 2023, when developing El Niño conditions contributed to dry and relatively warm conditions and rapid vegetation drying. The fire season started already in August in NSW with 70 active fires, and started in the subsequent weeks in Queensland, NT and WA. The greatest loss of homes and life occurred in Queensland, NSW and WA.
In southern NSW, a fire on 3 October threatened Bermagui and destroyed 2 homes. Hot conditions during the second half of October led to numerous bushfires across Queensland and northern NSW. From 14-16 October, separate fire incidents across NSW caused 2 fatalities and destroyed 15 homes, followed on 31 October by several further fires destroying 4 homes. On 14-15 November, a fire near Walgett destroyed 6 houses and caused one fatality.
In Queensland, numerous fires broke out from 22-31 October, many of them caused by dry lightning. Fires near Tara in southern Queensland destroyed 58 homes and took two lives. Elsewhere across the state, the fires claimed 12 homes. The north-westerly winds also carried smoke to Queensland and NSW coastal cities. In WA, a fire on 22 November on the northern edge of Perth burnt 18 homes.
Nationally the area burnt was greater than the previous year but remained below average. The total area burnt was 37 Mha, 44% more than the previous year but 12% below the 2000–2022 average.
Fire activity was near average across most of Australia. Fire activity was above average in western NSW and South Australia and below average in Victoria.
Remotely sensed fuel moisture content provides a measure of landscape flammability. Nationally, the minimum value observed during the year was 6% lower than in 2022 but remained 3% above the 2000-2022 average, indicating relatively unfavourable conditions for bushfires.
Regionally, the lowest fuel moisture conditions since at least 2000 were observed in inland and north-west WA and in inland southern Queensland and Northern NSW.
Total fire carbon emissions were 209 Mt carbon. They were 2.1 times greater than in 2022 and 61% above the 2000–2022 average emissions. As in other years, savanna fires in northern Australia were responsible for the majority of fire emissions.
