Australia raises bushfire risks ahead of El Nino summer

Australia faces an increased risk of bushfires during the approaching summer, authorities warned on Thursday, with the El Nino weather pattern expected to generate hotter and drier conditions across large swathes of the country. Three years of incessant rain has increased vegetation, but the intense heat waves common during Australia's December-February summer can quickly turn this into tinder-dry bushland, fuelling fires. Climate change has amplified the country's weather extremes in recent years, experts say. "Compared with the spring outlook, more capital cities are now facing increased risk," Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said in a statement, urging residents to update their bushfire plans and pack emergency and evacuation kits. Australia sweltered in an intense spring heat wave in September that sparked dozens of bushfires, prompting authorities to issue a fire ban for Sydney, though recent rain across the east has doused many fires.