The Guardian view on the bushfires: Australia needs a government with the right priorities | Editorial

Prime minister Scott Morrison has tried to deflect and distract from the role played by global heating in a national disasterThe sheer scale of the bushfires sweeping through south-east Australia, turning the sky first black, then a terrifying apocalyptic red, defies the imagination. About 5.5m hectares of land has been burned; an area larger than Denmark and the Netherlands put together. This bushfire season began in the Australian spring and the blazes spread far and wide. The vast volume of dust and ash generated has turned the glaciers and snow-capped mountains of New Zealand's South Island brown.The signs of new and dangerous times are unmistakable. With another wave of unbearable heat expected this weekend, the biggest-ever population exodus is under way from New South Wales, where residents have been told their homes will be "undefendable" in the days to come. In neighbouring Victoria, a state of disaster has been announced, permitting formal evacuation orders to be issued. The army and navy have been deployed to transport residents from affected areas, at risk of further devastation with temperatures forecast to reach the mid-40s celsius by Saturday. The trail of destruction, which has so far led to the loss of 18 lives, has been facilitated by a combination of searing heat, strong winds and a record-breaking three years of drought, which left soil moisture at historic lows. Continue reading...