'Make no mistake' - it's global warming

A

discussion about climate change appeared in Page six in today’s Country News, the McPherson Newspaper Group’s specialist rural publication.

The story, headed “Climate change leading to more hot weather” said:

Make no mistake about it – global warming is increasing the odds of hot, record-breaking weather conditions in Australia, climate experts say.

Professor David Karoly.

Five papers released in October, including three from the University of Melbourne, have analysed Australia’s changing climate throughout 2014 as part of that annual extremes issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorology Society.

The papers look at the role of climate change on a series of extreme weather events that hit Australia last year, including:

-      Two baking hot days during the G20 World Leaders Forum in Brisbane.

-      The January heatwaves in Melbourne and Adelaide.

-      A 19-day nationwide heatwave during May.

-      The hottest spring on record.

-      An unusually stalled weather pattern that led to severe frost across the south-east of the country.

University of Melbourne atmospheric scientist David Karoly says the five papers together demonstrate just how much global warming has become a part of today’s climate.

“We have just experienced Australia’s hottest October on record and globally 2015 looks likely to smash the hottest year on record yet again,” he said.

“The expected and obvious signals of climate change confirm that global warming is already with us as we move towards the Paris talks.”

He said in almost every case, climate change was found to have a significant impact.

“Climate scientists have long expected an increase in extreme heat events to be the first apparent symptom of global warming,” Professor Karoly said.

“The pronounced increase in these events show how global warming has started to change our world.”

University of Melbourne research fellow Dr Andrew King authored a paper investigating the G20 summit.

He found the 34 on the first day of the Brisbane summit was 25 per cent more likely due to climate change; and 38 November days are now 44 per cent more likely.

But investigations into January heatwaves the struck Adelaide and Melbourne during the Australian Open are less clear.