James Whitmore, The Conversation e Michael Hopkin, The Conversation
A new report published by the Climate Institute says Australia could avoid lengthy heatwaves and help save the Great Barrier Reef by meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C global warming goal.
The Great Barrier Reef is already feeling the effects of climate change.
AAP/Supplied
2015 was the world’s hottest year on record. The US State of the Climate report has rounded up the litany of temperature and other records that were broken all over the globe.
The city of Phalodi has set a temperature record for India, hitting 51°C. Until now, India’s smog problem has curbed extreme temperatures. But that could be about to change.
Tasmania’s bushfires damaged pristine bushland and stretched emergency services to the limit.
AAP Image/Patrick Caruana
This summer has seen Tasmania suffer through drought, bushfires, floods and the worst marine heatwave on record. Is this what life under a climate-changed future will be like?
Bushfires and heatwaves are expected to increase and significantly impact on Australian cities and urban communities.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Sydney is in the process of smashing the record for the longest run of days above 26°C. Weather, El Nino and climate change are all playing their part.
Extreme weather could trigger ecosystem collapse, including mass tree deaths.
Dead tree image from www.shutterstock.com
Extreme weather will affect people and animals, as well as whole ecosystems. Research using satellites shows that ecosystems worldwide are vulnerable to collapse.
The cover that trees provide transforms cities into much more hospitable places, especially in hot weather.
AAP/Joe Castro
Six years after Black Saturday, it’s worth remembering that heatwaves kill more people than bushfires do, so shade can be a life-saver. But tree cover and shade are not evenly distributed in cities.
Rural southern Australia has been drying out over the past several decades. Pictured here, Burra in South Australia.
David Jones
Australia is the land of drought of flooding rains, driven by events such as El Nino. But despite this variability, some parts of Australia are clearly drying out.
People living with chronic illnesses are more vulnerable to heat effects.
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El Niño dominated global climate in 2015, but in Australia the story was more complicated. 2015 was Australia’s fifth warmest year on record, and saw the return of very dry conditions to parts of Australia.
Health issues from extreme heat are a reality for many in Africa.
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This has been Australia’s hottest October on record. And the record-breaking temperatures are at least six times more likely thanks to human-induced global warming.