<span style="color: #222222;">In Australia, smoke haze from bushfires raging in the country spread to the capital Canberra today, as firefighters raced to contain more than 140 blazes ahead of a heatwave forecast early this week. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">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.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">  </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">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. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Official data shows, 2019 is on track to be one of the hottest and driest years on record in Australia.</span><br />