Climate scientist Dr. Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick warns Australians on longer and hotter heatwaves which will likely increase temperature up to 50 degrees Celsius.
Yahoo News Australia reported that the warning comes after Perth battled its record-breaking hot weather over the weekend. Perth is struggling through its longest run of days above 39 degrees Celsius. Currently, the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia was 50.7 Celsius in Oodnadatta South Australia in 1960.
Dr. Perkins-Kirkpatrick told Brisbane Times that the hot weather will continue as it is becoming the norm of Australia over the past 60 years.
“Those really rare heatwaves we might have only seen once every 20 years for example, might occur now once every two years. They will certainly be occurring lot more often than what they used to had climate change not occurred,” she said. Heatwaves are defined as high temperatures recorded during the day and night of three or more consecutive days.
Bureau of Meteorology Senior Climatologist Blair Trewin affirms Dr. Perkins-Kirkpatrick’s claim, saying there had been a steady increase in extreme hot weather events and a decline of extreme cold events. The hot weather has becoming more intense, particularly on the south of the continent, the scientists observed.
2015 is the fifth warmest year on record according to data released by Bureau of Meteorology, with significant heatwaves in March, October, and December.
According to Brisbane Times, heatwaves in Sydney are occurring an average of three weeks earlier. Melbourne is also copping stretches of extreme heat earlier in the summer but experiencing about the same number of heatwave days. Canberra is having twice as many heatwave days each year, although its intensity has remained the same.
The Western Australian State Emergency Management Plan (WASEMP) warns people to be cautious. “Associated with these events is the projected increase in the number of heat-related deaths and consequential impacts on community, infrastructure and services,” reminds WASEMP.