'Quite sobering': Record hot 2015 could become 'new normal' by 2030, study finds

Dr Sophie Lewis - her research
is "quite sobering".

Record hot years such as last year's global scorcher will become the norm before 2030 unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, a new study by Australian researchers has found.

The scientists, led by Sophie Lewis from the Australian National University, used different emissions projections to determine when 2015's record global surface temperatures could be considered a "new normal".

Most of the climate models analysed that, within a decade, last year's emissions projections would be average or even cooler than average, Dr Lewis said.

"The studies are quite sobering and show us what will happen if we're not prepared to make the deep cuts to emissions," she said.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “'Quite sobering': Record hot 2015 could become 'new normal' by 2030, study finds.”