The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, known as Black Summer, was one of the most catastrophic fire seasons on record, burning over 24 million hectares across the country from June 2019 to March 2020, with the most severe blazes peaking in December 2019 and January 2020. The fires destroyed more than 3,000 buildings, directly killed 33 people, and contributed to an estimated 417 additional deaths from smoke inhalation, while displacing or killing roughly three billion terrestrial vertebrates and potentially driving some species to extinction. With an economic cost exceeding $100 billion, it stands as Australia's costliest natural disaster, prompting states of emergency in hard-hit areas like New South Wales, which saw 11,774 fires and six percent of its land burned, and eastern Victoria. Rescue efforts were immense, mobilizing the Australian Defence Force and international crews from New Zealand, Canada, and the US, while public and celebrity donations reached an estimated $500 million for victim relief and wildlife recovery. The crisis sparked intense debate over the underlying causes, particularly the roles of climate change and fire management practices, while the massive smoke plumes even traveled across the Southern Ocean to affect weather conditions on other continents.