From September 2019 to March 2020, Australians endured a "Black Summer", when catastrophic bushfires ravaged our drought-stricken land.
The fires were fuelled by extremely hot and dry conditions, the latter a result of several years of low rainfall.
The number of fires, their intensity, the extent of the area burnt, the homes, businesses and infrastructure destroyed, the number of animals injured and killed, and the smoke - which suffocated cities such as Sydney - were unprecedented, and captured worldwide attention.
In March 2020, we wrote:
Australians live in an increasingly challenging environment.
Drought, dust storms, fires, floods, land degradation, changes in climate, increasing cost of living, low wage growth, global trade tensions and economic uncertainty are just some of the issues we all face.
Unfortunately, this statement now greatly understates our challenges.