NATIONAL BREAKING NEWS BoM, CSIRO make dire climate predictions March 04, 2014 10:07AM The national weather agency is predicting Australias climate will continue to warm. Source: AAP THE national weather agency is predicting Australias climate will continue to warm, bringing more extreme heat and longer fire seasons across large parts of the country. A new report by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO concludes the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is rising, and left unchecked further emissions will cause more warming this century. Limiting the magnitude of future climate change requires large and sustained net global reductions in greenhouse gases, states the third State of the Climate report. It stresses the changes were occurring against the background of high climate variability but the overall signal was clear. Its a sobering reminder from the nations premier science and weather bodies, and follows hot on the heels of a major review on Australias emissions targets from the Climate Change Authority last week. This latest BoM report, released on Tuesday, focuses on climate observations and monitoring in the Australian region as well as possible future scenarios. There was no shortage of fascinating - and at times, destructive - weather events for the report to scrutinise. The year 2013 was Australias warmest year on record, but wasnt an isolated occurrence. Seven of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1998, with a five-fold increase in the frequency of very warm months over the same period. The report found that since the 1970s there had also been an increase in extreme fire weather, but predicted worse was to come. More extreme fire-weather days are slated for southern and eastern Australia, areas devastated by bushfires this spring and summer, with longer fire seasons in these regions to drag on. In bad news for farmers, a likely increase in drought frequency and severity is predicted as average rainfall in southern Australia decreases. Cyclones are expected to be fewer, but fiercer, while more extremely hot days and fewer cool days remain a reality on the horizon. The BoM and CSIRO said the record-breaking heatwaves like the kind that swept Australia the past two summers were very unlikely to have been caused by natural variability alone. Cutting global emissions would be crucial to preventing the worst global warming has in store, but that alone wouldnt be enough, the science agencies warn. Adaptation is required because some warming and associated changes are unavoidable, it recommended.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 03:22:21 +0000
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