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Australia having longer bushfire seasons, more "extremely hot days": climate report

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australia is experiencing more frequent bushfire seasons and more "extremely hot days" than ever before, according to a government climate report released on Thursday.

Australia's peak scientific body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) released the "State of the Climate 2016" report with the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), and CSIRO senior scientist Helen Cleugh said greenhouse gas levels were the highest in "two million years."

"Carbon dioxide is measured in parts per million, and before around 1750, the level of CO2 was 278ppm," Cleugh said in a statement on Thursday. "This year the Earth will record a global annual average of over 400ppm, the highest level in the past two million years."

"Australian temperatures will almost certainly continue to increase over the coming decades. Temperature projections suggest more extremely hot days and fewer extremely cool days."

Cleugh said not only would Australia be affected on land, but temperatures in the sea would also continue to rise - something which could threatened Australia's aquatic plants and animals.

"As land temperatures increase, so do ocean temperatures and the report shows that the deep ocean is also impacted, with warming now recorded at least 2,000 meters below the sea surface," she said.

Meanwhile, the BoM's Manager of Climate Monitoring, Dr Karl Braganza said Australia had "experienced its three warmest springs on record in 2013, 14 and 15."

"Temperature and rainfall during this period is critical to southern Australia's fire season," he said in the statement.

"We've already seen an increase in fire weather and a longer fire season across southern and eastern Australia since the 1970s. In these regions the number of days with weather conducive to fire is likely to increase.

"Some of the record-breaking extreme heat we have been seeing recently will be considered normal in thirty years' time."

According to the CSIRO, the "State of the Climate 2016" is its fourth collaboration report with the Bureau of Meteorology, which will "play an integral role in monitoring, measuring and reporting on weather and climate." Endit