Storms that bring fire – using artificial intelligence in Australia’s bushfire crisis

Doomscroll Remedy

When you’re on the frontline of a raging bushfire, every second counts.

Life-saving decisions have to be made in seconds, and anyone who’s lived through a bushfire can tell you the difference 5, 10 or 15 minutes can make.

Even if you haven’t lived it, most Australians remember the images of glowing red skies, smoke-blanketed cities and angry thunderstorms that, instead of rain, brought more fire.

The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020 brought discussions about Australia’s changing climate to the forefront of the national consciousness, leaving many of us overwhelmed by the scale of the problem and how often we’ll be facing it in the future.

We'll take you to where that deadly fire season started in Queensland: a little holiday town on the coast where fire spread with alarming speed. You’ll also meet the UQ researchers using artificial intelligence to support firefighters, communities and families to make those 5, 10 or 15 minutes count.

Doomscroll Remedy takes you to the edge of the existential crises that keep us up at night and introduces you to the experts working to solve them.

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Doomscroll Remedy is a University of Queensland podcast, produced by Deadset Studios.

Hosted by Stephen Stockwell. Produced by Grace Pashley, Krissy Miltiadou and Rachel Fountain at Deadset Studios. The consulting producer is Zoe McDonald and commissioning editor at The University of Queensland is Greta Usasz.

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made.