Abstract
The 2019–20 bushfires that raged in eastern Australia were an overwhelming natural disaster leading to lives lost or upended, and communities destroyed. For almost a month, Canberra, Australia's capital city in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), was obscured by smoke from fires which threatened the outer suburbs. While smoke itself is experientially different from many natural disasters, it nevertheless poses a significant public health threat. As the impact of extended bushfire smoke in an urban setting is relatively unexplored we aimed to capture the individual and community-level experiences of the event and their importance for community and social functioning. We responded rapidly by conducting semi-structured interviews with a range of Canberra residents who, due to their personal or social circumstances, were potentially vulnerable to the effects of the smoke. Three major themes emerging from the narratives depicted disruption to daily life, physical and psychological effects, and shifting social connectedness. This study highlighted the ambiguous yet impactful nature of a bushfire smoke event, and identified four simple key messages that may be critically relevant to policy making in preparation for similar smoke events in the future.
Highlights
There is growing consensus that climate change is a significant underlying cause of the extreme bushfire activity witnessed over the “Black Summer” [1,2,3] of 2019/2020 during which massive bushfires affected much of Eastern Australia
The effects of the smoke were felt in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), where air quality is typically very good [7]
The capital city of Australia, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has a population of 426,704 [42] people living mainly in the suburbs surrounding five urban centers that make up the city
Summary
There is growing consensus that climate change is a significant underlying cause of the extreme bushfire activity witnessed over the “Black Summer” [1,2,3] of 2019/2020 during which massive bushfires affected much of Eastern Australia. The duration of the bushfire smoke in places like Canberra was extraordinary: from late November to early February 2020 Canberra experienced approximately 40 days when the air quality was considered to be poor [11] including 17 days between 15th December and 15th Februrary when it was extremely poor (≥300 PM2.5 μg/m3) [12]. During this time, the media disseminated health advice to Canberra residents to stay indoors to avoid smoke exposure
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
