Australia... High temperatures and strong winds fuel forest fires

Weather of Arabia - Firefighters in the state of Queensland, northern Australia, fought more than a hundred forest fires on Sunday, with temperatures rising above 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the state that suffer from drought.

The weather bureau said high temperatures and strong winds had fanned forest fires in much of the state, which is known for mining and farming.

"It's this warm weather with high winds that is leading to an increased risk of fires today," Met Office expert Harry Clark told Reuters.

He added that the weather was "quite unusual" for Queensland for this time of year and the bad weather was unlikely to improve until Tuesday.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said bushfires have been raging for more than a week now in some parts of the state and firefighters have been called in from across Australia to help contain the flames.

The only fire-related fatality occurred on Friday evening in the town of Rolleston, when a 21-year-old man who was trying to put out a fire was hit by a tree.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the fires had destroyed more than 1,300,000 acres of farmland in the state.

Source: Reuters