<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/23/australias-worst-heatwave-since-black-summer-made-five-times-more-likely-by-global-heating-analysis-finds>
"Human-caused global heating made the intense heatwave that affected much of
Australia in early January five times more likely, new analysis suggests.
The heatwave earlier this month was the most severe since the 2019-20 black
summer, with temperatures over 40C in Melbourne and Sydney, even hotter
conditions in regional Victoria and New South Wales and extreme heat also
affecting Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
In Victoria, the heat preceded bushfires that burned through 400,000 hectares
and destroyed almost 900 buildings.
A report by World Weather Attribution (WWA) suggests that the effect of
greenhouse gas emissions outweighed the effects of a weak La Niña, which
usually means milder temperatures across most of mainland Australia.
The report’s authors suggest that the climate crisis made the extreme heat
about 1.6C hotter, while the La Niña likely lowered maximum temperatures by
between 0.3 and 0.5C.
“There was definitely a signal of human-induced climate change behind this
event,” said Prof Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, one of the report’s co-authors and
a climate scientist at the Australian National University.
Heatwaves – defined as three consecutive days where maximum temperatures are
higher than average – cause more deaths in Australia than all other natural
hazards combined.
“When people are affected by extreme heat, it is very insidious,”
Perkins-Kirkpatrick said. “It’s not something that happens straight away … it’s
something that comes to light in a number of days after the event, and may also
be due to the exacerbation of underlying diseases.”
“The mentality here of ‘suck it up, she’ll be right’ does not fly any more,”
she said. “[The heat] is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s
ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with.”"
See also:
“Total transformation of the Australian summer:” Climate change made January
heatwaves five times more likely
<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/total-transformation-of-the-australian-summer-climate-change-made-january-heatwaves-five-times-more-likely/>
"Australia has just experienced its worst heatwave in six years but it’s set to
become much more common under existing policies to curb carbon emissions.
The Australian summer is undergoing a “total transformation” as scientists warn
climate change made a recent blistering heatwave five times more likely.
Australia’s southern states sweltered during early-January through the worst
heatwave conditions since the summer of 2019-2020, a period scarred by
devastating bushfires.
Peak temperatures in the 40s across much of southeast Australia constitute the
sort of extreme event that would have occurred just four times a century before
human-induced global warming.
Now, the World Weather Attribution says similarly intense three-day heatwaves
can be anticipated every five years.
If the world warms 2.6C above pre-industrial averages as predicted under
existing policy settings, such extreme heat events could strike every second
year by the end of the century."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
