Experts react to new research that suggests Australia's "Black Summer" bushfire catastrophe in 2019-2020 coughed up so much smoke it may have fuelled the global onset of La Nina's climatic phenomenon in 2020. The report, in peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, said the bushfires were "exceptional" in their severity -- pumping out emissions on a scale similar to "major volcanic eruptions". Two experts not connected to the research say it was notable because it is one of the first studies to attempt to link the impacts of wildfire on weather systems -- highlighting the interconnectedness of the global climate. "It certainly is possible that that may have triggered a certain onset of phase of El Nino Southern Oscillatio," says University of New South Wales climate change researcher, Tom Mortlock. SOUNDBITES