Research touches Australians across the country
Building on Centre-funded research, the Australian Fire Danger Rating System uses evidence to forecast and communicate fire danger across the country.
Every summer, the Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) becomes a daily part of everyday for Australians, who rely on this national warning system to inform their bushfire preparation, while bushfire agencies rely on it for operational planning.
The AFDRS was improved and simplified in 2022 to make it easier for Australians to make decisions to stay safe on days of high fire danger. A significant element of this work built on the Centre’s research and data.
The Predicting Fire Danger Ratings from physical measures of fire behaviour project, led by Dr Stuart Matthews of the NSW Rural Fire Service, developed a fire behaviour index that underpins more accurate predictions of bushfire characteristics used by the new system.
The Centre also delivered an extensive review and update of rating definitions, tables, fuel maps, and models that form critical components of the AFDRS’s operational framework.
After a trial during the 2017–18 bushfire season, a 2020 federal funding agreement provided $18.18 M through the National Emergency Management Agency to implement the AFDRS nationally – the first major update of the existing warning system since it was created in the 1960s.
Today, the AFDRS provides national consistency in communications and warnings around bushfires. It has enhanced the accuracy and timeliness of fire danger ratings, improved community decision making, and ultimately made communities at risk of bushfire safer and more resilient.
The AFDRS has been:
- Referenced in 150 policy documents across four countries
- Referenced by 30 policy institutions.
Ongoing research we fund continues to contribute to the AFDRS through better understanding landscape dryness, enhancing fire behaviour models for low intensity fires, and improving inputs into grass fire models.
The AFDRS is managed by the Australian and New Zealand Council for fire and emergency services (AFAC) in close collaboration with the Australian Government, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), the Bureau of Meteorology, and other contributing agencies.
Acknowledging our funders and partners: