Heat streak

New figures confirm the hottest 5-year period on earth ran to 2017.

New climate data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found the world experienced its hottest five years from 2013 through to 2017.

Climate Councillor and international climate scientist Professor Will Steffen said that the global temperature averaged over the last five years was enough to confirm our hottest period to date.

This record is part of a sharp, long-term upswing in global temperatures, with 17 out of the 18 years hottest years on record all occurring in this century.

Professor Steffen said rising temperatures and extreme weather records were like dominos, toppling one after the other around the globe last year.

“Here in Australia, we are seeing the effects of intensifying climate change first hand," he said.

"We’ve seen records reach disappointing new height’s in just 12 months, with more than 260 heat and low rainfall records smashed throughout one season (winter) alone.”

He said in Australia we've seen soaring temperatures, some regions in New South Wales and South Australia copping daytime temperatures nearing 50 degrees Celsius last summer. 

Since the 1890s severe heatwaves have killed more people than bushfires, cyclones, earthquakes, floods and severe storms combined.

The NOAA data found 2017 to be the third hottest year on record and the hottest year where temperatures weren't boosted by an El Niño event.

According to the data the increasing global heat was driven primarily by burning fossil fuels, and worsened extreme weather events around the globe and in Australia in 2017.

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said the global data release was timely after the Federal Government admitted that Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution levels were consistently rising, contributing to intensifying climate change.

She said climate change was exacerbating extreme weather events across the country and around the globe.

"This was obvious in 2017, from severe heatwaves and bushfires, through to supercharged storms, cyclones and flooding,” she said.
 
“The window of opportunity to tackle climate change is rapidly closing .... The release of this data is yet another warning to the Federal Government to urgently slash Australia’s rising greenhouse gas pollution levels in a bid to protect Australians from escalating extreme weather events, placing lives at risk.”

McKenzie took the new data as a chance to remind people Australia now has an opportunity to transition to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy and storage technology.