The human, environmental and economic toll of Australia’s devastating wildfires is mounting each day, but the country has barely begun to grasp the total cost of the “unprecedented” blazes and how it will change the way people live.

Igniting two months earlier than the usual start of the Australian fire season, the flames have torn through an area about the size of West Virginia—killing at least 20 people, shrouding cities in choking haze and stretching firefighters to a breaking point.

Severe drought over several years has created tinder-dry conditions, perfect for fires. It has intensified a national debate about the link of rising average global temperatures to the fires and the contribution of Australia—a major coal miner—to global warming.

The death toll is lower than the 173 killed in the Black Saturday fires in Victoria state in 2009, but in other respects these blazes—which could persist until March—are being viewed by experts as unprecedented.

The scorched area is vast, with more than 23,000 square miles burned nationwide since early November. Almost every state has been affected—thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, and tourists visiting summer holiday spots have been trapped by advancing fires.