If you can't stand the heat, get out of the climate change debate

There is no shortage of things to talk – and worry – about this week.

More than 260 heat and low rainfall records
 were broken during the winter months, the
Climate Council says.

A glance at trending social media topics suggests "Las Vegas", "Tom Petty", potential moves for AFL players Tom Rockliff and Jake Lever and "National Boyfriend Day" are on the brain. But oddly missing from the list of talking points is the terrifying research released on Wednesday.

According to a study led by the Australian National University, Sydney and Melbourne should prepare for 50-degree summer days in the coming decades. Researcher Sophie Lewis said these 50-degree scorchers could occur even under the Paris Agreement's global warming limit of 2 degrees.

The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, adds "such unprecedented temperatures would present onerous challenges to human and natural systems"

Read Judith Ireland’s comment in today’s Melbourne Age - “If you can't stand the heat, get out of the climate change debate.”