A woman carries her surfboard at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sept 19, 2023. Sydney has experienced its first total fire ban in almost three years and several schools on the New South Wales state South Coast were closed because of a heightened wildfire danger with extraordinarily high temperatures across southeast Australia. (PHOTO / AP)

CANBERRA - Australia's prime minister has promised the nation will be prepared to the fullest possible extent for the upcoming bushfire season.

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In a speech to the inaugural National Disaster Preparedness Summit in Canberra on Tuesday afternoon, PM Anthony Albanese told emergency services personnel that they are owed a "total commitment to the best possible state of preparedness" for fires.

Albanese on Tuesday said that the "clear consensus" is that Australia is facing its most severe bushfire season since the 2019/20 Black Summer fires due to climate change driving "more extreme, more unpredictable" conditions

"We owe you - and the communities you protect - more than our admiration and gratitude," he said.

"For your sake, and for the sake of your families, we owe you our total commitment to the best possible state of preparedness."

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"To treat the coming fire season with all the seriousness and urgency it deserves."

The two-day summit, which began on Monday, was convened by the government to guarantee a cohesive national response to the 2023/24 bushfire season.

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Albanese on Tuesday said that the "clear consensus" is that Australia is facing its most severe bushfire season since the 2019/20 Black Summer fires due to climate change driving "more extreme, more unpredictable" conditions.

"This summit is about preparing Australia for the very worst," he said.

Earlier in September, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) formally declared that El Nino and "positive" Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) climate-driving events are underway, both of which are linked to hot, dry weather conditions in Australia.