An extract
from the ABC News website.
4/03/2013
The
latest report from the Federal Government's Climate Commission says
the weather extremes experienced around the country this summer were
made worse by climate change.
The
report - The Angry Summer - says the extreme heat, floods and
bushfires experienced around country were all aggravated by a
shifting climate, and it warns the trend is likely to continue.
Climate
Commission chief Professor Tim Flannery says that while Australia may
have always been a land of drought and flooding rains, the nation is
now experiencing a "climate on steroids".
"I
think one of the best ways of thinking about it is imagining that the
baseline has shifted," he said.
"If
an athlete takes steroids for example... their baseline shifts,
they'll do fewer slow times and many more record-breaking fast times.
"The
same thing is happening with our climate system. As it warms up,
we're getting fewer cold days and cold events and many more record
hot events. In effect, it's a climate on steroids."
The
report states that temperature records were set in every state and
territory over summer.
It
says much of Australia has been drier than usual since the middle of
last year.
While
Queensland and New South Wakes have experienced heavy rainfall,
Victoria and South Australia have recorded their driest summer in
decades, and there have been devastating bushfires in at least three
states.
Professor
Will Steffen, who authored the report, says the findings are
indicative of a trend that shows an increase in extreme weather
events.
"Over
the last 50 years, we've seen a doubling of the record hot days,
we're getting twice as much record hot weather than we did in the
mid-20th century, [and] we're getting less cold weather," he
said.
"In
fact, if you look at the last decade, we're getting three times as
many record hot days as we are record cold days, so the statistics
are telling us too that there's an influence on extreme events -
they're shifting."
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