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Fires surge across NSW and Tasmania; Lebanon nears Hezbollah disarmament deadline as renewed war looms; Philadelphia braces for Tuesday’s coldest blast
What is driving the sudden, intense fires across NSW and Tasmania
Dozens of bushfires ripped from the New South Wales mid north coast to Tasmania's east coast, killing a NSW firefighter and destroying homes, 16 in Koolewong, four in Bulahdelah, and 19 in Dolphin Sands. The immediate accelerants were 41 C heat in Koolewong, strong winds, and critically dry fuels, with dead fuel moisture falling below about 7 percent and letting flames run fast and hard. The deeper setup took years, lush regrowth after the 2019 to 2020 megafires dried out with recent below average rainfall, creating thick midstorey shrubs and regenerating eucalypts that act as ladder fuels and push fire into the canopy. Local factors worsened losses around Koolewong, steep terrain, poor access, homes close to eucalypt forests, many built before modern bushfire resistant codes, and areas where hazard reduction burning is difficult. Fuels are primed but weather will decide. Drought has eased in much of southern Australia, yet eastern NSW remains vulnerable, and even with a weak La Niña, a drier than average December outlook points to a difficult season that demands vigilance.
Lebanon faces deadline to disarm Hezbollah as risk of renewed war looms
Israel insists the group be dismantled, Hezbollah vows to keep its weapons while strikes continue, and Beirut lacks the force to compel either side. After a two month Israeli campaign in late 2024 that used heavy ordnance and decapitated Hezbollah's leadership, killing Hassan Nasrallah and successor Hashem Safieddine, many fighters were pushed back toward the Litani. The toll was severe, about 3,800 dead in Lebanon, 127 more civilians killed after the ceasefire, and tens of thousands displaced on both sides, while Israel still holds five positions inside Lebanon after pulling from most of the south. Under a U.S. and French brokered truce, the Lebanese army is tasked with disarming Hezbollah, with a December 31 deadline set by the Trump administration, a timeline without leverage given continued Israeli raids and new chief Sheikh Naim Qassem's threats of missile retaliation. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam faces a bleak binary, deploy a 60,000 strong army against a well armed, still popular movement and risk civil war, or refuse and risk Israeli escalation. The only plausible off ramp would require Washington to restrain Israeli breaches long enough for Beirut to attempt a nonconfrontational fix, something in short supply in a country already living on rations of resilience.
Philadelphia braces for the season's coldest blast Tuesday
Monday night around 27 degrees plunges to about 17 in the city, 13 in Doylestown, 11 in Allentown, and single digits in the Poconos where wind chills dip below zero. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, Philly starts near 15 and nudges to 21 by 9 a.m., with sunshine strictly for morale, not warmth. Even if readings climb nearly 20 degrees in the afternoon, wind chills stay stuck in the 20s. A southerly breeze offers only token relief and temperatures remain well below seasonal norms. Translation, it will feel like pure ice and your thermostat will file for hazard pay.
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