Fires are normal in Australia. This year was off the charts. Correction: A previous version of this video had the date January 7, 2019 at 0:11 and sourced the Department of Western Australia at 0:24. It has been corrected to January 7, 2020 and the Government of Western Australia. The current version also corrects an error at 2:10 and 2:29 where our voiceover mixed up East and West. -- Australia’s recent fire season has been hellish with no end in sight. At least 17.9 million acres have burned, 28 people have died, and an estimated 1 billion animals have been lost. But while Australia burns, East Africa has been grappling with record-breaking rainfall leading to catastrophic floods. Both have a common cause — and it lies in the Indian Ocean. Want to help? Here are some organizations that are collecting donations that could use your support: The New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Service Foundation, and Country Fire Authority: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/volunteer/support-your-local-brigade https://cfsfoundation.org.au/donate https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/supporting-cfa The Australian Red Cross’s fire and recovery relief fund: https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-new-years-eve East Africa relief: https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/donate/east-horn-relief-fund And read more about Australia's climate and the IOD: https://www.vox.com/2019/12/30/21039298/40-celsius-australia-fires-2019-heatwave-climate-change http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL040163 Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com/. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com/. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H