Related News
Choking Australians furious at 鈥榩athetic鈥 leaders over fires
Print Edition
Up to 20,000 protesters rallied in Sydney yesterday demanding urgent climate action from Australia鈥檚 government, as bushfire smoke choking the city caused health problems to spike.
Sydney has endured weeks bathed in toxic smoke as hundreds of blazes have raged across the countryside, with hospitals recording a 25 percent increase in the number of people visiting emergency departments last week.
On Tuesday smoke alarms rang out across Australia鈥檚 biggest city, triggered by the thick haze, forcing buildings to be evacuated, school children to be kept indoors and ferries to be canceled.
The devastating fires have focused attention on climate change, with scientists saying the blazes have come earlier and with more intensity than usual due to global warming and a prolonged drought.
Police estimated the crowd size at 15,000 and organizers put the figure at 20,000.
Many of the protesters voiced anger at the government鈥檚 silence in the face of the crisis.
鈥淭he country is on fire,鈥 said 26-year-old Samuel Wilkie attending his first climate protest. He described politicians鈥 response as 鈥減athetic.鈥
鈥淥ur government is not doing anything about it,鈥 said 29-year-old landscape gardener Zara Zoe. 鈥淣o one is listening. No one is doing anything.鈥
Prime Minister Scott Morrison 鈥 a staunch backer of Australia鈥檚 vast coal industry 鈥 has said little about the smoke since the crisis began, preferring to focus on fire-hit rural communities. Organizer Chloe Rafferty said that had created anger at the conservative government鈥檚 inaction.
鈥淚 think the wider public can see that we are not expecting the climate crisis in the future but we are facing the climate crisis now,鈥 she said.
鈥淧eople are experiencing it in their day-to-day lives.鈥
As well as a rise in people visiting hospitals with smoke-related health symptoms, the number of emergency calls for ambulances spiked 30 percent last week.
鈥淔or most people, smoke causes mild symptoms,鈥 a top health department official said. 鈥淗owever, people with conditions like asthma, emphysema and angina are at greater risk.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
