14 DAY TRIAL // Towards the beginning of May, the United States Global Change Research Program released a report saying that climate change was already happening and affecting people living in this country.
This past June 1, a very similar report hit the public eye, except that this time the focus was on how said phenomenon was reshaping weather patterns and influencing average temperatures in Australia.
The report in question is the brainchild of specialists working with the Climate Council, and it argues that, according to evidence at hand, the past 24 months have turned out to be Australia's hottest on record.
“The 24-month period ending with April 2014 was the hottest on record for any two-year period, easily beating the previous record set in the 2002-2004 period,” the Climate Council writes on its website.
“The 24-month period ending with May 2014 will likely exceed this newly set record,” the researchers behind this latest report on climate change go on to argue.
Information shared with the public says that, in September 2013, temperatures documented in Australia were 2.75 degrees Celsius higher than the average. In October 2013, on the other hand, they were reported to be 1.43 degrees Celsius higher than average.
The warming trend continued well into 2014, meaning that, in this year's April, local temperatures were 1.11 degrees Celsius above the long-term average for this period. Besides, the month of May also turned out to be quite hot.
Specifically, Sydney experienced a record 19 consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 22 degrees. Melbourne and Adelaide were not exactly cool either, meaning that local temperatures exceeded 20 degrees Celsius for 13 and 16 consecutive days, respectively.
Specialists with the Climate Council argue that this latest report just goes to show that climate change and global warming are not some distant threat that folks need not worry about just yet, but are already affecting the lives of people in Australia.
“The past two-year period has delivered the hottest average temperature we have ever recorded in Australia. Climate change is here, it’s happening, and Australians are already feeling its impact,” says Professor Will Steffen.
The good news is that, according to the folks at the Climate Council, Australia can still act to limit climate change and global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainability.
“Australians have an opportunity to rapidly and significantly reduce our CO2 emissions to help stabilize the climate and halt the current trend towards more extreme weather events and hotter average temperatures,” the researchers say.