Aussie Bushfires: Conditions will continue to get worse

Reuters: Residents across a wide swath of Australia's east coast were bracing for increased fire conditions on Tuesday (November 12), with searing heat and high winds expected to fan scores of already burning bushfires, threatening residential areas. Millions of people across two states are subject to a seven-day state of emergency that was imposed by officials on Monday, with locals in areas deemed most at risk urged to evacuate before the worst hits. Sydneysiders woke up to a city shrouded in smoke. Officials have rated the harbor city at "catastrophic fire danger" for Tuesday, the first time it has received that designation since new fire danger ratings were introduced in 2009. Home to more than 5 million people, Sydney is ringed by large areas of bushland, much of which remains tinder dry following little rain across the country's east coast in recent months.