SYDNEY: Firefighters are in a race against time as they battle a series of devastating wildfires sweeping through southeast Australia.

On January 28, thousands of acres within the region's national parks were engulfed in flames, forcing entire farming communities to evacuate.

The ferocity of the fires intensified following a series of lightning strikes that ignited multiple blazes in the Grampians National Park, located approximately 300km west of Melbourne, Victoria's capital. However, the situation escalated dramatically with a separate, rapidly spreading fire in Little Desert National Park.

This inferno has ravaged nearly 65,000 hectares in less than 24 hours—an area nearly as large as Singapore—which prompted immediate evacuation measures in the rural town of Dimboola.

Fortunately, by Tuesday afternoon, threat levels for this particular fire had been downgraded.

Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent expressed relief that there have been no reported injuries or fatalities thus far.

I'm incredibly thankful that no lives have been lost, he stated. Yet, the ongoing risk remains high, as Chris Hardman from Forest Fire Management Victoria cautioned that weather conditions in the coming days could exacerbate the situation.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Kevin Parkyn warned of an impending heatwave.

The next seven to ten days will see a hot dome settling over Victoria, leading to conditions that should not be taken lightly. The landscape is already dry, and these rising temperatures will only worsen the situation.

These extreme heat conditions are not isolated incidents.

Research reveals that Australia has been experiencing increasingly severe natural disasters linked to rising temperatures since the 1950s.

The 'Black Summer' bushfires of 2019-2020 serve as a stark reminder of this truth, resulting in the tragic loss of 33 lives, millions of animals, and substantial destruction of forests, while enveloping major cities in dense smoke.

As these wildfires continue to threaten both ecosystems and human communities.

The urgency for a proactive response and long-term strategies to combat climate-related disasters has never been clearer.

The spotlight on this issue serves as a call to action for every Australian to take measures, be it small or significant, towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fostering resilience against future catastrophes.