CC and extreme weather: AUS 2016

[MrPosti...@kymhorsell.com]

<https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/cranking-intensity-report>

Cranking Up The Intensity: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events

Lesley Hughes & Will Steffen
08.02.2017
Climate Council


Climate change is now influencing all extreme weather events - with
some of the most severe climate impacts occurring in 2016, our latest
report has found.

Cranking Up The Intensity: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
finds that while the links between climate change and some extreme
weather events such as bushfires and heatwaves are well-established,
the evidence linking climate change to storms and heavy rainfall is
also growing.

Graphics:
<https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/67ef8514281a4fa66c604ff7122dd1c5.jpg>
<https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/8bf5acfa3eae3a454c9f4f35186a2183.jpg>

Full report (pdf):
<https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/1b331044fb03fd0997c4a4946705606b.pdf>


KEY FINDINGS

1. Climate change is influencing all extreme weather events in
Australia.
All extreme weather events are now occurring in an atmosphere that is
warmer and wetter than it was in the 1950s.
Heatwaves are becoming hotter, lasting longer and occurring more
often. Marine heatwaves that cause severe coral bleaching and
mortality are becoming more intense and occurring more often.
Extreme fire weather and the length of the fire season is increasing,
leading to an increase in bushfire risk.
Sea level has already risen and continues to rise, driving more
devastating coastal flooding during storm surges.

2. Some of the most severe climate impacts the world has experienced
have occurred in 2016.
Arctic sea ice reached its lowest annual extent on record while record
sea surface temperatures drove the worst coral bleaching event in the
Great Barrier Reef's history.
Tropical Cyclone Winston was the most intense cyclone to hit Fiji on
record, while Hurricane Otto was the southernmost hurricane to hit
Central America on record.
Canada experienced its costliest wildfire in history in Fort McMurray,
forcing the evacuation of almost 90,000 people.
The US state of Louisiana experienced 1-in-500 year rains that brought
severe flooding leading to 30,000 rescues and 13 deaths.

3. Across Australia, extreme weather events are projected to worsen as
the climate warms further.
Extreme heat is projected to increase across the entire continent,
with significant increases in the length, intensity and frequency of
heatwaves in many regions.
The time spent in drought is projected to increase across Australia,
especially in southern Australia. Extreme drought is expected to
increase in both frequency and duration.
Southern and eastern Australia are projected to experience harsher
fire weather.
The intensity of extreme rainfall events is projected to increase
across most of Australia.
The increase in coastal flooding from high sea level events will
become more frequent and more severe as sea levels continue to rise.

4. The impacts of extreme weather events will likely become much worse
unless global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced rapidly and deeply.
Burning of coal, oil and gas is causing temperatures to rise at
unprecedented rates and is making extreme weather events more intense,
damaging and costly.
Major emitters including China and the European Union are leading
action on climate change, but Australia is lagging well behind and is
on track to even miss its very weak target of a 26-28% reduction in
emissions by 2030.
Australia is expected to do its fair share to meet the global
emissions reduction challenge by cutting its emissions rapidly and
deeply.
Phasing out ageing, polluting coal plants and replacing them with
clean, efficient renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is
imperative for stabilising the climate and reducing the risk of even
worse extreme weather events.

--
Black Tue anniversary prompts warning Tasmanian bushfire threat
higher than ever
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-06/brooker-highway-gridlock-supplied-jane
-maarseveen/8241090>
Cars heading out of Hobart along the Brooker Highway on the afternoon of
Feb 7, 1967. (Supplied: Jane Maarseveen)
ABC News, 07 Feb 2017
50 years ago today the worst natural disaster to hit Australia to that
point killed 64 Tasmanians [2 up from prev official count of 62] and
injured 900 and came within 2 km of Hobart's CBD when 39C temps and
110 kph winds sparked more than 100 fires in the space of 5 hours
across SE Tasmania. The fires destroyed 1200 homes. 7000 people were
left homeless and around 3000 km2 burned out. 80,000 head of livestock
were also killed by the firestorm. While some remember the horrific
scenes of that day in 1967 other commentators have warned it's only a
matter of time before the disaster is repeated or even exceeded.

UK's treasured cricket grounds hit by extreme weather linked to climate change
BT.com, 07 Feb 2017 00:58Z
Some the UK's other most treasured places, including country gardens,
churches, pubs, historic homes, woodlands, white cliffs and ancient
monuments are also being hit by extreme weather linked to rising temperatures.
Storms in Dec 2015 linked to ...

Metro Detroit weather: Near record highs, soaking rain ahead
WDIV Detroit, 07 Feb 2017 01:08Z
Detroit. Metro Detroit will be near record highs on Tue, but it will
come with soaking rain and dense fog. Clouds have started increasing ahead
of rain, ...

A new Google Chrome extension replaces the word "Trump" with "Steve Bannon"
as part of an effort to highlight the influence that the White House chief
strategist has on the president. -- Chris Graham.

Flash flooding wreaks havoc in Sydney, more rain forecast
[A cloudburst followed a day of stifling heat].
ABC News, 07 Feb 2017
Sydney is bracing for more rain and possible thunderstorms tonight after a
day of chaos from flash flooding, which resulted in the collapse of a
Tennyson Point house and 13 SES rescues.
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8248176-16x9-460x259.jpg>

Victoria set to ban fracking after Coalition backs Government legislation
ABC News, 07 Feb 2017
Victoria will become the first state in Australia to permanently ban fracking,
after the Opposition party room agrees to support legislation introduced
by the Andrews Government.

Climate Feedback #@ClimateFdbk 07 Feb 2017 01:00Z
@MailOnline allegations that @NOAA manipulated data to influence Paris
climate agreement unfounded. Scientists: <http://climatefeedback.org/
sensational-claims-of-manipulated-data-in-the-mail-on-sunday-are-overblown/>
[UNSUPPORTED]

Honda Cites Growing Electric Car Demand for Hitachi Venture
Bloomberg, 07 Feb 2017 08:12Z
Honda Motor Co. plans to set up a joint venture with Hitachi Automotive
Systems Ltd. to develop, produce and sell motors for electric vehicles,
citing the expected increase in demand for electric autos with tougher
environmental standards.

BP annual earnings dip to 10-year low, warns OPEC cut could affect 2017
production
CNBC, 07 Feb 2017 08:13Z
BP disappointed analysts on Tue morning, reporting lower-than-expected
net income in the fourth quarter and annual earnings that dipped to at least
a 10-year low.

GOLDMAN SACHS: Here's how Trump will escalate a trade war with China
Business Insider, 07 Feb 2017 10:06Z
London. The risk of an escalating trade war between China and the US is
rising fast. US President Donald Trump's trade advisor, Peter Navarro,
proposed a blanket 45% tariff on all Chinese-made goods.
In Depth:Donald Trump is alienating Mexico - and the big winner could be
China -- CNBC

Contested NOAA paper had no influence on Paris climate deal
Envoys from US, EU, Russia and South Africa reject a "bold claim" from the
Mail on Sun that one piece of research in June 2015 shaped the flagship
UN climate agreement and "duped" world leaders into "investing bns". "
No single paper had a significant role in shaping the outcome of the
conference", said Norway's climate and environment minister Vidar Helgesen,
while an EU negotiator said that they "did not recall any discussion" of the
NOAA paper during talks. "Before we negotiated a single word in Paris, 188
countries had put forward pledges for the meeting," said Andrew Light, a
senior member of the US State Dept's negotiating team in 2015. He
continued: "You're gonna tell me what got all of them to go through those
discussions was based on one NOAA study?" There are signs that Republican US
lawmakers will use the story to bolster their calls for NOAA to be defunded
and the US to pull out of its international climate commitments, Climate
Home notes. Ars Technica takes a look at the supposed "whistleblower" and
speaks to Thomas Peterson, a co-author of the original paper, who provides
extra clarifying context to the claims. The article also criticises the
Republican politician trying to exploit the claims: "Rather than engage with
the science behind this paper, Rep. Lamar Smith has, without any evidence,
accused the NOAA scientists of doctoring their results to exaggerate recent
warming", Ars Technica writes. ClimateFeedback has published the views of
various scientists who say the "sensational" claims are "unsupported". The
editor-in-chief of Science, the journal which published the original study,
has emailed responses to both Roz Pidcock, Carbon Brief's science editor,
and Andy Revkin pointing out that the claims have already been investigated
by NOAA are are "without substantial merit". Elsewhere other publications
such as EnergyDesk continued to report on "glaring gaps" in the Mail on
Sun's piece, such as that their graph failed to account for the agencies'
different baselines. Carbon Brief published a factcheck of the article by
climate scientist Zeke Hausfather on Sun. Other publications to cover the
claims include Desmog UK, the Hill, Grist and Bad Astronomy. Judith Curry,
the retired climate sceptic scientist and blogger who first promoted the
claims, has posted a response to the many rebuttals saying that "we can look
forward to more revelations". -- Ed King, Climate Home

Motorists shun diesel cars while eco-friendly sales rise
Motorists are shunning diesel-fuelled cars in favour of cars that are more
eco-friendly, according to new industry figures. Sales of diesel cars were
down 4.3% in Jan, compared to the same month last year, while sales of
electric cars and other alternatively-fuelled vehicles jumped by 19.9%,
gaining a 4.2% market share. BusinessGreen and Energy Live News also carry
the story. -- BBC News