According to a group of Australian climate scientists, New South Wales, which has just experienced its hottest summer on record, is 50 times more likely to experience another similar hot summer and 10 times more likely to experience hot days under climate change. At the beginning of 2017, the mean temperature in Sydney has been 2.8C above the average and the three-day heatwave from 9 February 2017 to 11 February 2017 has been the hottest on record from Sydney to Brisbane, breaking the record of 1939. This is the kind of weather event that should be considered a one in 500-year occurrence but, because of the impact of global warming on climate system, has now become a one in 50-year event. The weather may make cities like Sydney less livable and unprepared for the knock-on effects of a significant increase in temperatures such as the building codes, the insulation, the double-glazing or the energy regulators which are not equipped to supply enough power to cover the demand from air conditioners. However, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull links the blackouts to renewable energy which, according to him, is unable to hit the country’s energy targets. People have already experienced hot days decades ago but these incidences are different since they are getting more and more frequent. For this reason, it is necessary to raise awareness that climate change is impacting in Australia so as to motivate some action by the government. The gLAWcal Team POREEN project Thursday, 2 March 2017 (source: The Guardian)

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