DoctorGrant Williamson

Interview on ABC Tasmania Afternoons Program with Joel Rheinberger, 12 July 2023.

Podcast episode of children's science podcast "The Fact Detective". Tune in to learn some cool facts about fire! Like how does fire work? How do you stop a fire? And can eucalyptus trees really explode? In this episode, Anika and Dexter catch up with Grant Williamson who studies wildfires and climate change at the university of Tasmania. Press play to kindle your curiosity so you can learn all the fantastic facts about fire. Enjoy a brand new fact-filled episode every fortnight, and if YOU have a big Fact Detective question, send it to factdetectives@kinderling.com.au Guest: Grant Williamson who studies wildfires and climate change at the university of Tasmania

Australian Museum

As bushfires in New South Wales are finally contained, attention is turning to nature’s recovery. Green shoots are sprouting and animals are returning. But we must accept that in some cases, the bush may never return to its former state. We’ve all read the devastating figures of destruction this fire season. More than 11 million hectares of land burned across the country over a period of about six months. There is some evidence more than one billion animals perished. We can take some heart in the regenerative power of the Australian bush. However, when we read of “recovery” in the media, we feel we must clarify what that might actually look like. While Australia’s environment has evolved to adapt to fire, our research shows we can no longer assume it will recover completely.

I’ve been studying fires for more than a decade. I use satellite data to try to understand the global and regional patterns in fire – what drives it and how it will shift in the future as our climate and land use patterns change. When I look at these images I think: this is a crisis we have seen coming for years. It’s something I have been watching unfold. Look at the sheer scale of it. Seeing this much fire in the landscape in such a broad area, seeing so much severe fire at once, this quantity and concentration of smoke – it is astonishing. I haven’t seen it like this before.