Australian heatwaves more frequent, hotter and longer: Climate Council report

Extract from ABC News website:

Heatwaves in Australia are becoming more frequent, hotter and are lasting longer, a report released today by the Climate Council says.

The interim findings of the report, Australian Heatwaves: Hotter, Longer, Earlier and More Often, come as southern Australia swelters through a heatwave.
After notching up two consecutive days over 40 degrees Celsius, Melbourne is on track to record its second-longest heatwave since records began in the 1830s.

Defining a heatwave

For the first time, the Bureau of Meteorology has provided a national definition of a heatwave.
It says there are three grades of heatwave, with severe and extreme posing the most serious risk.

The temperature is expected to reach 41C today before increasing to 42C tomorrow.
The longest heatwave in Melbourne was in 1908, when there were five consecutive days over 40C.
Temperatures have also regularly surpassed 40C in South Australia and Western Australia recently.
The Climate Council's report found some parts of the country experienced an average increase of one to three heatwave days over the last 60 years.
Report co-author Dr Sarah Perkins says the change has occurred mostly in Australia's south-east and west.
"So particularly areas around Adelaide and Perth that are currently experiencing heatwave conditions," she said.
"They seem to be the hardest hit in terms of the number of heat waves, they've increased, and also the intensity of heat waves as well."

Report key findings:

1. Hot days, hot nights and heatwaves are one of the most direct consequences of climate change;
2. Heatwaves have increased across Australia;
3. Climate change is making many extreme events worse in terms of their impacts on people, property, communities and the environment;
4. Record hot days and heatwaves are expected to increase in the future.

Extreme weather 'can be attributed to climate change'

Fellow author Professor Will Steffen says the extreme weather patterns can be attributed to climate change, with the continued burning of fossil fuels trapping more heat in the lower atmosphere.
"It is clear that climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and severe," he said in a statement.
"Heatwaves have become hotter and longer and they are starting earlier in the season."
Professor Steffen says hot records are now happening three times more often than cold records, and that the number of hot days across Australia have more than doubled.

2014's hottest towns 

As parts of Australia swelter through scorching temperatures, take a look at the hottest places throughout the month of January.

The report reveals that between 1971 and 2008, both the duration and frequency of heatwaves increased and the hottest days have become hotter.
Professor Steffen says large population centres of south-east Australia stand out as being "at increased risk from many extreme weather events, including heatwaves".
"The current heatwave follows on from a year of extreme heat, the hottest summer on record and the hottest year on record," he said.
The latest temperatures have driven electricity demand to its highest level since the heatwave which preceded the Black Saturday bushfires five years ago.
Regulators are expecting the predicted high temperatures for the rest of the week could see new records set for peak electricity demand in Victoria and South Australia.
About 10,000 homes in Melbourne were without power yesterday afternoon as electricity suppliers struggled with the demand.
The State Government has warned Victorians that up to 100,000 properties could be affected by outages over the next two days.
The South Australian Government has also flagged possible power cuts to ensure the grid copes under pressure, with Adelaide reaching 43.7C yesterday afternoon.
The interim Climate Council report will be released in Sydney at 11am (AEDT).