January 12, 2013 Australia was already a land of extremes but
it’s hotter than before with a greater risk of more heatwaves
and more severe weather. The Climate Commission says the length,
extent and severity of the present heatwave is unprecedented and
shows climate change is making extreme heat and bushfires worse.
It says the impact needs to be understood to plan for more of
the same. In a report called Off the charts: Extreme Australian
summer heat, one of the authors, David Karoly, says the heatwave
has affected over 70 per cent of Australia and longstanding
temperature records have been broken. “Although Australia has
always had heatwaves, hot days and bushfires, climate change is
increasing the risk of more frequent and longer heatwaves and
more extreme hot days, as well as exacerbating bushfire
conditions,” Professor Karoly said in a statement. “The baseline
conditions have shifted. “We live in a hotter world and the rise
of more frequent and severe extreme weather has already
increased.” The current