By: Amit kumaR Agarwal
Last summer was Australia’s second-hottest on a record going back to 1910, at 1.89C above the long-term average, according to data from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Now, scientists say that putting all the dots together - the second-hottest summer – coming after the second-hottest winter and the hottest spring on record - all point to the fact that this phenomena is a result of climate change.
Over the past 15 years, the data shows that only the summers of 2011 and 2001 have been cooler than the long-term average, taken from 1961 to 1990.
Climate change is the primary ingredient for this summer’s heat - stated Dr. Linden Ashcroft, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne. She added - the climate crisis is a cost-of-living issue for Australia. My generation will be the first to pay for it. You could not have made this hot summer cake without climate change. There is no way this could have occurred without a heating planet. Yes, this is the second hottest summer on record, but it will be one of the coolest in the 21st century.
Data released by the BoM shows the heat was well-spread around the country, with all regions seeing average daily temperatures in the top six on record. Last summer ranked second for the hottest daytime temperatures, and fourth-warmest for night-time heat.
The bureau’s long-range forecast released this week, showed that most of Australia should expect typical rainfall levels, but north, east and central Queensland could be drier and it could be wetter in the north-west of the country.
For temperatures, there was an increased chance of unusually high daytime and night-time temperatures across the whole of the country.