Via ABC News: Australian heatwaves more frequent, hotter and longer: Climate Council report. This is a news story about the Climate Council's just-released report. Excerpt from the story:
Fellow author Professor Will Steffen says the extreme weather patterns can be attributed to climate change, with the continued burning of fossil fuels trapping more heat in the lower atmosphere.
"It is clear that climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and severe," he said in a statement.
"Heatwaves have become hotter and longer and they are starting earlier in the season."
Professor Steffen says hot records are now happening three times more often than cold records, and that the number of hot days across Australia have more than doubled.
The report reveals that between 1971 and 2008, both the duration and frequency of heatwaves increased and the hottest days have become hotter.
Professor Steffen says large population centres of south-east Australia stand out as being "at increased risk from many extreme weather events, including heatwaves".
"The current heatwave follows on from a year of extreme heat, the hottest summer on record and the hottest year on record," he said.
The latest temperatures have driven electricity demand to its highest level since the heatwave which preceded the Black Saturday bushfires five years ago.
Regulators are expecting the predicted high temperatures for the rest of the week could see new records set for peak electricity demand in Victoria and South Australia.
About 10,000 homes in Melbourne were without power yesterday afternoon as electricity suppliers struggled with the demand.
The State Government has warned Victorians that up to 100,000 properties could be affected by outages over the next two days.
The South Australian Government has also flagged possible power cuts to ensure the grid copes under pressure, with Adelaide reaching 43.7C [110.6ºF] yesterday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Canadian tennis player Frank Dancevic collapsed during a game at the Australian Open and later called the conditions "inhumane" and "definitely hazardous." Temperatures in Melbourne were reported to be 42ºC (107.6ºF).