WEB DESK
Smoke haze from bushfires raging in Australia spread to the capital Canberra as firefighters raced to contain more than 140 blazes ahead of a heatwave forecast early this week.
According to scientists, Australia is experiencing a horrific start to its fire season which began earlier and is more extreme this year due to a prolonged drought and the effects of climate change.
Officials said, favourable weather conditions had given them a chance to bring several blazes under control before the forecast return of strong winds and high temperatures on Tuesday.
Official data shows, 2019 is on track to be one of the hottest and driest years on record in Australia.