Terry tells it like it is - hot and gettting hotter!

Letter from Beneath the Wisteria supporter, Terry Court, published in The Shepparton News on Friday, December 20.

As we experience another day of temperatures around 40°C, it is a good time to reflect on recent temperatures across Australia.

While we have all experienced temperatures in excess of 40°C and survived, this year has seen many temperature records broken:

• Australia’s warmest summer on record (December 2012 to February 2013).

• Australia’s warmest January and September on record.

• Australia’s warmest 12-month period on record (now broken three times for the periods ending August, September, and October.

• There have been 15 months in a row of above average temperatures.

For anyone reflecting on the good old days, the Climate Council reports that the number of hot days has more than doubled since the 1950s and 1960s and the number of cold days has gone down.

The vast majority of Australians now believe that human activities have contributed to global warming.

We must all act now – in whatever way we can.

What we do is limited only by our imagination.

Importantly, we must be active advocates for change, influence debate, encourage low-emission energy alternatives, support rail transport and re-evaluate what we really need.

We shouldn’t feel intimidated for trying to protect the planet and all the creatures, including us, it supports.