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For Australia Climate Change and Weather are One in the Same

February 10, 2015

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February 10, 2015 – This week, Australia’s Prime Minister was besieged by his own political party, surviving a vote of confidence. Tony Abbott, who has described climate change science as a lot of crap is increasingly under pressure from a public that, based on recent weather, believes it is the Prime Minister who is full of it and not the science.

In 2013 Australia set more than 100 new temperature records across the country. But Abbott, like his counterpart here in Canada, Steven Harper, is more interested in exporting fossil fuel products than addressing the overwhelming concern of the electorate – to begin fighting climate change.

A new report, produced by the independent, Climate Council, a not-for-profit organization crowdfunded by Australian citizens after the government gutted funding for its own researchers in the field, has been published stating, “climate change is making Australia hotter. Hot days are happening more often while heatwaves are becoming hotter, longer and more frequent.”

It further stated:

The record hot year of 2013 in Australia was virtually impossible without climate change.
Climate change tripled the odds that the heat waves of the 2012/2013 Australian summer would occur as frequently as they did.
Climate change doubled the odds that the 2012/2013 heat waves would be as intense as they were.

Australians refer to the summer of 2013 as the “angry summer.” The country endured the hottest day, the hottest month, and the hottest season since records were kept. The report quantified the likelihood of occurrence of these heat events as one in 12,300 years if increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities were not part of the equation.

Some interesting statistics from the report:

Sydney, Australia’s largest city is undergoing heat waves 19 days earlier than previously recorded.
Canberra, the capital, has seen a doubling in heatwave days.
Hobart, in Tasmania, has seen the start of heat wave days 12 days earlier.
Melbourne, has seen its heat wave days starting 17 days earlier with temperatures 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) degrees warmer than any previously recorded.
Adelaide has seen a doubling of heat wave days and experienced temperatures as high as 4.3 Celsius (7.7 Fahrenheit) degrees warmer than any previously recorded.

For the government of Australia, coal has become more important than the Great Barrier Reef or the fight to mitigate climate change. Australians very recently demonstrated just what they thought of this wilful blindness on the part of their political leaders. A gathering on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach buried their heads in the sand in protest.