The Rural Fire Service in New South Wales State of Australia told fire-weary community meetings in coastal communities south of Sydney that northwesterly winds were likely to drive bushfire towards the coast once again.

Holidaymakers have retreated to beaches and into the ocean in the area in recent weeks as destructive fires and choking smoke have encroached on the tourist towns, scorching sand dunes in some places.

A disaster-level notice in large parts of neighboring Victoria state, already in place for the past week, was extended by 48 hours and people in danger zones were advised to leave if it was safe to do so.

“Don’t get complacent from the rain we have had recently,” Victoria Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said in a televised briefing, referring to several days of cool weather that has allowed firefighters to strengthen containment lines around blazes that have been burning for months.

The unprecedented fire crisis in southeast Australia that has claimed at least 26 lives since September, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and shrouded large cities in smoke has focused many Australians on climate change. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has come under withering criticism at home and abroad for downplaying the need for his government to address the issue, which experts say has helped supercharge the blazes.

Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from Sydney, said while Australia was one of the world’s biggest producers of coal, many people wanted a change in government policy on the environment.

“We haven’t had any indication from the prime minister or any senior minister that we can expect any change in terms of the reliance on fossil fuel, but that is the sentiment among members of the public; that something does need to change,” she said.

In its annual Climate Statement, released on Thursday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said 2019 was Australia’s hottest and driest year on record with the national mean temperature 1.52 degrees Celsius (34.7 Fahrenheit) above average, while rainfall was 277.6 millimeters (10.9 inches), 40 percent below average. The previous record low was set in 1902.

“The national annual accumulated Forest Fire Danger Index – an indication of the severity of fire weather – was the highest on record,” the statement said.

The bureau’s head of climate monitoring, Karl Braganza, said while more rainfall was expected, it would not be enough to put out the blazes.

“Unfortunately, we’re not looking at widespread, above-average rainfalls at this stage,” he said. “That’s really what we need to put the fires out fairly quickly. It is going to be a campaign, in terms of the fires. We are not looking at a short and sharp end to the event – it looks like something that we will have to persist with for some time.”

The New South Wales government responded to the crisis on Thursday by announcing an additional 1 billion Australian dollars ($690m) to be spent over the next two years on wildfire management and recovery.

Ecologists at the University of Sydney on Wednesday doubled their estimate of the number of animals killed or injured in the fires to one billion.

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People have also reported their breathing has been affected by the smoke from the devastating blazes of Australia bushfires.

A witness to the eerie spectacle has described it as “apocalyptic”.

Police in New Zealand has asked people to stop calling the emergency number to report the issue.

One householder Zimena Dormer-Didovich said: “We’re in Auckland, New Zealand. That’s why this is so shocking to us – we’re so far away yet this smoke is so intense.”

She added: “My 14-year-old’s asthma is playing up, and I’m starting to notice that my breathing is slightly affected too.”

It comes as it was warned a billion animals will have died in the bushfires and even those that make it through the flames could perish in the coming weeks.

As flames continue to ravage swathes of the country, Stuart Blanch of WWF Australia told Sky News mammals, birds, reptiles, bats, frogs, and insects are all victims – and those who survive the infernos may still be doomed.

“Animals that make it through the fires will continue to die in the next weeks and months because of dehydration, starvation, disease and being easier prey for feral cats and foxes,” he said.

“Nearly all of the Australian wildlife is well-adapted to cope with normal bushfires – but this is not normal, this a climate emergency-driven bushfire catastrophe and a lot of our wildlife simply cannot get away from the fires – they’re too fast, they’re too big, they’re too hot.

“So even animals that are not being burnt to death are cooked because of extreme temperatures, or they get very confused and lost because of the smoke haze so our animals don’t stand a chance from these mass mega-fires that burn flames up to 200ft high.”

Thousands of firefighters are battling to contain the blazes of Australia bushfires and many continue to burn out of control, threatening to wipe out rural townships and causing almost incalculable damage to property and wildlife.

Soaring temperatures and strong winds fanned fires in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia on Saturday, forcing thousands to flee and bringing flames to the suburban fringes of Sydney.

The number of people killed has risen in the past 24 hours after a 47-year-old man died while trying to defend a friend’s home.

Earlier on Saturday, a father and son who were battling flames for two days died on a highway on Kangaroo Island, off South Australia State.

A total of 24 people have been killed and almost 2,000 homes destroyed as the bushfires have ravaged three Australian states, burning about five million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land.

On Sunday, a drop in temperature and rain showers has brought some hope of a respite from the flames.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a news conference on Sunday: “While the weather conditions have improved… there are still many fires that are raging.

“And there is a very significant firefighting effort which is continuing.

“The better conditions obviously will assist, but it is important to stress, as I’ve been advised, that the nature of those fires is still very strong.

“And it will take some time. And that will require a considerable amount of effort. And we absolutely understand that that is where the primary focus is, particularly of the fire commissioners as they are addressing that very urgent task.”

Actors, pop stars and Britain’s royal family have stepped in to offer support for victims of the bushfires, helping to raise millions for firefighting services and wildlife shelters.

Nicole Kidman pledged a $500,000 (£381,000) donation on behalf of her family to New South Wales State Rural Fire Service, without specifying a currency.

She posted on Instagram: “Our family’s support, thoughts, and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires all over Australia.”

Australian comedian Celeste Barber, who has family near the bushfire-hit town of Eden on the country’s southeastern coast, and popstars Pink and Iggy Azalea, who hails from a blaze-hit region north of Sydney, have also promised cash, as has actor Russell Crowe.

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