“How hot does it have to get before the current government does something on climate change,” Australian Labor Party leader Bill Shorten said on his official Twitter account on January 24. “We’re expecting more heat extremes and more records to be broken in the future, as well as a greater incident of heatwaves,” he said.Īustralian Minister for the Environment Melissa Price did not respond to CNN requests for comment. There have been regular complaints from climate change experts and activists, as well as the Opposition Labor Party, that Australia is not doing its part globally.Īn Essential Vision poll in December 2018 showed more than half of Australians agree, with 53% saying Australia was “not doing enough” to combat global climate change.ĬSIRO scientist Grose told CNN that analysis of previous Australian heatwaves had found a “very clear” relation to human-caused climate change. “The country will fall short of its 2030 emissions target without a major effort to move to a low-carbon model,” the OECD said. Hundreds of thousands of homes were sporadically left without power in Victoria and South Australia amid surging demand as residents turned up air conditioners and fans.Īmid the heatwave, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a scathing review of Australia’s environmental policies.Ĭalling on the Australian government to better protect the country’s “rich biodiversity” and reduce its unusually high dependence on fossil fuels, the report said Australia was on track to miss the emission targets it agreed to under the Paris Agreement. Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman on Wednesday warned conditions would “worsen”.įacing pressure from Australians desperate to escape the heat, the country’s power grid even began to buckle. Dozens of bushfires broke out across the southern state of Tasmania, destroying homes and wilderness as hundreds of firefighters sought to get the blazes under control. We have to stop the devastating impacts of climate change becoming normal,” Greenpeace Australia said in statement Tuesday.Īn Australian man spent over two hours tending to this thirsty koala after temperatures soared to 49C during a heatwave.įor more news and video, head here: /DO8l0APreL- Sky News January 25, 2019Īuthorities and infrastructure have been struggling to keep up with the extreme weather’s disastrous side effects.
Similar mass flying fox deaths have been recorded in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. In Victoria, more than 2000 flying foxes died due to heat stress in what local media described as a “nightmare” event. In the Northern Territory, the bodies of dozens of wild horses were found strewn along a dried-up water hole. Max PhillipsĪuthorities blamed the prolonged drought and weather conditions, which caused fish to suffocate for lack of oxygen in the water – although some locals say it’s down to government mismanagement of the river system.īut fish aren’t the only victims of Australia’s extreme weather. They’re holding two large dead fish, killed when temperatures soared at the beginning of the month – just one of three mass fish kills which have left thousands of them decomposing on the surface of the water.ĭozens of fish lying dead on the Darling River in NSW near Menindee after an extreme heat wave in January.
In a video which went viral across Australia in January, two farmers make an emotional appeal for help standing beside the massive Darling River in New South Wales. #climatecrisis #auspol /oPnEilRpcv- Alexei Trundle January 24, 2019 but it's probably what our current level of policy ambition deserves. #climatechange when I started working on this thing. Just so we're clear, being the hottest place on Earth is not the way that I had hoped Australia would be leading the world re. “Even under a very low emission scenario we’re expecting to see an increase in those record hot days,” he said. Michael Grose, senior research scientist from CSIRO’s Climate Science Center, told CNN, in one example, that by 2100 Adelaide could face up to 22 days per year over 40 C (104 F) in a worst-case scenario. Heath Holden/Getty Imagesīut while the current heat continues to cause problems for ordinary Australians, scientists are warning it could only be the beginning of the country’s problems with extreme weather if no action is taken to prevent climate change.
Tasmania Fire Service conduct back burns in preparation for the unfavourable weather conditions on January 23.
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