The bushfire crisis sweeping across Australia is only the beginning of what's to come, a former firefighting boss has warned.
It comes after the World Meteorological Organisation found 2019 was the earth's second-hottest on record, and temperatures are creeping towards a globally agreed limit after which major changes to the earth are expected.
Former Fire and Rescue NSW deputy commissioner Ken Thompson says the developments are a terrifying sign of increasing catastrophe, especially after fires have laid waste to vast swathes of the country.
"We're on a stepping stone to a different kind of normal, and that normal is going to be more catastrophe," he said.
"All we can do now is reduce our emissions to the point where we can put a cap on it."
"We're on a stepping stone to a different kind of normal, and that normal is going to be more catastrophe." Source: AAP
Mr Thompson has witnessed a significant shift in the Australian people's support for climate science, while those denying it dig in their heels or propel the idea that it's an international conspiracy.
But he says the federal government's position on climate change and its undermining of scientists is putting people in danger.
"You've got people who are very influenced by what politicians say, and what the media says, and if they're being told things are okay and then they suddenly find themselves in the catastrophic conditions that we're in now," he said.
Protesters hold placards during a climate change rally in Sydney. Source: AAP
"That's a very stressful situation for people to be in."
Mr Thompson predicts a surge in frontline services personnel like police, firefighters and paramedics developing post-traumatic stress disorder due to increasingly confronting scenes.
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