The warning indicators that Australia will see intense heatwaves and wildfires this summer

Australia is already experiencing heat and fire in early spring, raising concerns of a disastrous summer.

Over 20 Sydney Marathon runners were hospitalized last weekend due to heat. After Australia's warmest winter since 1910, ski resorts like Perisher, the largest, closed early due to a lack of snow.

Last week, scores of bushfires broke out, with over 60 in heavily populated New South Wales.

These are gloomy signs for spring and summer in many sections of the country. Scientists are warning about the impact of natural climate phenomena like El Niño and human-caused global warming.

Last Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) declared the onset of El Niño, a Pacific Ocean weather trend that brings hot and dry conditions to eastern Australia.

In addition to El Niño, another climate fluctuation increases heat and drought risk. Like El Niño, the positive Indian Ocean Dipole is a climate phenomenon that originates in the Indian Ocean and has a significant impact on Australian weather.

“We are already seeing extreme weather conditions in some parts of the continent, particularly in the duration of heat,” and “catastrophic” fires, said BOM climate monitoring head Karl Braganza on a Tuesday teleconference with reporters.

He advised Australians “to prepare for a summer of heat and fire hazards.”

As Australians remember the 2019–2020 Black Summer fire season, the worst in decades, fears are high. The fires destroyed 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) and killed hundreds of people and billions of animals.