The first part of this section focuses on the history of fire across the globe both from geological and evolutionary time frames. Presented next, the history of fire across Australia, described as the most fire prone of all continents.

In Australia, traditional burning practices changed with the arrival of white settlers and, today there is a difference in approach and attitude to fire in northern and southern Australia.

Activity: World on fire

How widespread is fire across the globe?

To give you an idea of how widespread fire is across the globe, explore the following website The World on Fire which shows the distribution of fires seasonally for the year 2000.

Have a look at where significant global fires events are occurring at the moment. How might this change with season?”

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