‘Relentless heat’: Bureau dubs this summer one of the hottest on record

There is still one month of summer remaining but the Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed it will be one of the hottest on record, dubbing it a season of “relentless heat”.

It wasn't just you: The Bureau of Meteorology has
confirmed it's been one of the hottest summers on record.

December and January have brought heatwaves, droughts, cyclones and bushfires.

In particular, December was a month of extreme, the bureau said on Tuesday, with the national mean temperature about two degrees above historical averages.

There were only two days in the whole month where the temperature was not above average.

Read the story from The New Daily - “‘Relentless heat’: Bureau dubs this summer one of the hottest on record.”

2018 was Australia’s third hottest year on record

If you thought it was hotter than usual last year, you weren’t wrong. Climate experts have confirmed it was Australia’s third-warmest year on record, with every state and territory recording above average temperatures in 2018.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) annual climate statement, the nation’s average temperature last year was 1.14C above the average for 1961-1990, making 2018 slightly warmer than 2017.

“When we look across all of Australia in 2018, we can see that every single state and territory had above average day and night-time temperatures,” the Bureau’s senior climatologist Lynette Bettio said in a statement on Thursday.

Read the story from news.com.au by AAP and Benedict Brook - “2018 was Australia’s third hottest year on record.”

Jane Caro poised to run against Tony Abbott in seat of Warringah

The author and commentator Jane Caro has confirmed she is seriously considering running against Tony Abbott for the seat of Warringah at the next election, and says it is her “duty”.

 The writer Jane Caro says she feels it is her ‘duty’ to run
against Tony Abbott as an independent in the seat of Warringah.

After the apparent victory of independent Kerryn Phelps in Wentworth on Saturday, other very safe Liberal seats – including that of the former prime minister’s seat on Sydney’s Northern Beaches – are now in the sights of prospective challengers.

On Saturday night Caro’s sister, a school principal, tweeted her in response to a call for Warringah candidates.

Caro responded: “Grew up there. Went to school there. Sent kids to school there. Live in neighbouring electorate. Anyone interested? Get in touch.”

Read the story from The Guardian by Helen Davidson - “Jane Caro poised to run against Tony Abbott in seat of Warringah."

Josh Frydenberg says government will focus on power prices over emissions reduction

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has conceded the Australian Parliament has failed to deal with the challenge of climate change as he confirmed the new Morrison government will concentrate on lowering power prices ahead of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says a workable policy on
climate change has eluded Australian politics for a decade.

Mr Frydenberg said "no one is more disappointed that I am" about the decision to get rid of the National Energy Guarantee, the policy he designed and campaigned for as energy minister, but he declared the focus would now be on price.

"What you will hear from us, which you will not hear from the Labor Party, is that we will put reducing people’s power bills first, over emissions. You will not hear the Labor Party say that," he said.

Read the story from The Age by Stephanie Peatling - “Josh Frydenberg says government will focus on power prices over emissions reduction.”

The Warming War: How Climate Change is Creating Threats to International Peace and Security

“Scientific evidence has confirmed that the future viability of life on earth is threatened by climate change.

Dr Kirsten Davies.

“Life sustaining eco-systems are being disrupted and many may become unviable, rendering life on earth untenable. 

“The impacts of climate change have situated the planet in an era of the Warming War, a term coined in this Article, that describes the planetary threats to global security posed by the warming climate which is the result of the impacts of climate change. 

“The Warming War term encompasses how climate change is undermining global stability by influencing resource-driven conflict, loss of territory through sea- level rise, and mass-migration.”

So say Dr Kirsten Davies and Thomas Riddell in the introduction to their paper “The Warming War: How Climate Change is Creating Threats to International Peace and Security.”

(Dr Davies was one of the many presenters at the three-day National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) conference in Melbourne that ended yesterday - May 10, 2018)

Josh Frydenberg lobbies AGL board to force Liddell power plant sale

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has all but confirmed he had personally lobbied board members of AGL Energy in an effort to force a sale of the ageing Liddell power plant.

The Liddell coal-fired power plant in NSW. 

Sources have told Guardian Australia Frydenberg has been calling individual board members in an effort to crash through management opposition to offloading the coal-fired facility in New South Wales to a competitor, the Hong Kong-owned Alinta Energy, which is looking to expand its market share.

The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, contacted the chairman of the company last Tuesday.

Read Katherine Murphy’s story from The Guardian - “Josh Frydenberg lobbies AGL board to force Liddell power plant sale.”

2017: Record-Breaking Year for Heat and Extreme Weather

THE HOTTEST PERIOD on record has been officially confirmed, with the world experiencing its hottest five-years from 2013 through 2017, according to new climate data released today.

The Climate Council’s ‘2017: Record-breaking Year for Heat and Extreme Weather’ report coincides with this morning’s release of climate data from peak climate observation body the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The global temperature averaged over the last five years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) has been confirmed as the highest ever on record for any five-year period. This record is part of a sharp, long-term upswing in global temperatures, with 17 out of the 18 years hottest years on record all occurring in this century.

Read the Climate Council story - “2017: Record-Breaking Year for Heat and Extreme Weather.”

AGL rebuffs Malcolm Turnbull and commits to ditching Liddell power station for gas, wind and solar

The Turnbull government will seek expert advice on AGL's new electricity generation plan after the energy giant rebuffed the government and confirmed it would close its coal-fired Liddell power plant.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after meeting
with AGL boss Andy Vesey in September.

The company believes it can meet the energy shortfall and reduce emissions through a multi-phase development of gas, wind and solar plants, while proceeding with the long-slated closure of Liddell in 2022.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has made electricity supply and power prices a key electoral issue, had implored AGL to consider extending the life of the ailing power station or find a willing buyer.

He said yesterday AGL's plan was "not at all" a rebuke of the government and it will be assessed by the Australian Energy Market Operator by mid-February.

Read Michael Kaziol’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “AGL rebuffs Malcolm Turnbull and commits to ditching Liddell power station for gas, wind and solar.”

2016 crowned hottest year on record: Australia needs to get heat smart

Australians need to become heat-smart.

It’s official, 2016 set another record for being the world’s hottest. Three international agencies have confirmed today that last year was the hottest on record.

NASA reported that 2016 was 0.99℃ hotter than the 20th-century average, while the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) called it at 0.94℃. NOAA also calculated that global land temperatures were 1.43℃ higher. The UK Met Office, using its own data, also reported that 2016 is one of the two hottest years on record.

The figures vary slightly, depending on the baseline reference period used.

Heat records don’t linger for long any more. 2016 surpassed the 2015 record, which surpassed the 2014 record. Three record hot years in a row sets yet another record in the 137-year history of modern accurate and standardised meteorological observation.

Read The Conversation story - “2016 crowned hottest year on record: Australia needs to get heat smart.”

Concerns about new heatwave about to be confirmed

Concerns about further bursts of heat are about to be confirmed.

A story in the Melbourne Age headed: “Mercury and fire dangers to riseas new burst of heat looms” warns of heatwave conditions and elevated fire risks in coming days.

Environment editor, Peter Hannam, wrote that the bureau's new heatwave forecasting service indicates most of Victoria will experience heatwave conditions from Tuesday until at least Sunday.
 

And then, he added: “By Sunday, most of the state, along with south-eastern SA and southern NSW, will have severe heatwave conditions”.