'Fires near me' was the top searched item on Google in Australia in 2019

• Google unveiled the top trending search terms in Australia for 2019 and "Fires near me" came out on top.

• Also among the top trending search terms were the Rugby and Cricket World Cups as well as the election results.

• Other major themes Aussies Googled this year were plant-based recipe searches and "How tos".

• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

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Just Google it.

Google has released the top trending searches on its platform in Australia in 2019, with "Fires near me" taking the crown. It was the highest search query in Australia for the year, Google said in its blog, with one of the top trending news searches including "NSW fires".

As the bushfires ravaged parts of New South Wales and Queensland, they reached "catastrophic" fire danger ratings, a level that was introduced after the Black Saturday fires in Victoria. The fires also created a thick blanket of smoke that has covered Sydney.

Read more: As bushfires ravage eastern Australia, governments say they don't want to talk about climate change – but scientists say the link is clear

The "Fires near me" search query was under one of five major themes Google identified in its top trending searches. The first were categorised under "Fires, floods and disasters", with other top searches including "Cyclone Oma" and "Townsville flooding".

There were also searches for other international news events Aussies wanted to know more about.

"Beyond our borders, we showed our concern for the Amazon and asked why it was burning," Google said. "We also tried to make sense of atrocities and attacks, searching for Christchurch and Sri Lanka – and why Hong Kong is protesting."

The next major theme was sport – from rugby and cricket to the Basketball World Cup. Australian tennis superstar Ash Barty topped the list of top trending Australians, while questions about the "Women's World Cup" were among the top searches for sports events in Australia.

Aussies asked a lot of "How to" questions, from "How to vote" to "How to pronounce psalm". Plus, Aussies searched for recipes, particularly around plant-based foods and classics like apple pie.

There were also searches for new beginnings and goodbyes, as we welcomed the Royal baby Archie and farewelled fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld and actor Cameron Boyce.

Here are the top trending Google searches in Australia in 2019:

1. Fires near me

2. Rugby World Cup

3. Cricket World Cup

4. Election results Australia 2019

5. Cameron Boyce

6. Thanos

7. Avengers Endgame

8. Danny Frawley

9. The fall of the Berlin wall

10. Christchurch shooting

Trending News:

1. Election results Australia 2019

2. Christchurch shooting

3. NSW fires

4. Cyclone Oma

5. Sri Lanka

6. NSW election

7. Brexit

8. Townsville flooding

9. Royal baby

10. Amazon fire