Australia's climate is changing - Climate Commission

The latest report from the Climate Commission, a body created by the Australian Government, continues the regular reporting of climate change data gathering which is simultaneously both mundane and yet necessary in importance. The Climate Commission report has found a variety of mixed results but with one overarching impact - that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and with a higher intensity. As one example, for the cities of Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra, the annual number of hot days is increasing more quickly than expected and is already at the level projected for 2030. For another key statistic, sea level has risen by 0.21m and is continuing to rise as the ocean becomes warmer while glaciers and polar ice sheets melt with warmer temperatures. Even a sea-level rise of 0.5m would lead to flooding frequency increasing by several hundred times compared to the baseline data (taken for the period prior to global warming).  A multiplying factor of 100 means that the oft-termed 'one-in-a-hundred' year flooding event can now happen almost annually.

The Forest Fire Danger Index, one of the key measures of bushfire threat has increased at 16 of the 38 weather stations across Australia between 1973 and 2010 with none of the stations recording a significant decrease. The report again underscores the need for further efforts to reduce CO2 emissions at the same time as addressing the need for more adjustment mechanisms for sustainability.