Hot spell may sway sceptics

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Brisbane Times

Environment

Date

January 13, 2013

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Peter Hannam

Carbon economy editor

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SCIENTISTS are hopeful this summer's hot spell will reduce scepticism about climate change.

Joseph Reser, adjunct professor at Griffith University's School of Applied Psychology, said ''there's a powerful climate change signal in extreme weather events in Australia for the public - the current heatwave is outside people's experience''.

A study published in late 2012 by Griffith University and co-authored by Professor Reser found Australians were more ready to accept that climate change is happening - and many believe they are already experiencing it.

On Saturday, a new record for the hot spell was set at Moomba, which recorded 49.6 degrees, while temperatures in Victoria were generally milder.

The peer-reviewed national survey, conducted in 2011, found 39 per cent of respondents viewed climate change as ''the most serious problem facing the world in the future if nothing is done to stop it''.

Two-thirds viewed climate change as a serious problem ''right now''.

Just 4.2 per cent of the 4347 respondents selected the option ''there is no such thing as climate change'' and 8.5 per cent could be considered strong sceptics - far fewer than is often portrayed in the media, Professor Reser said. ''Figures like 40 per cent are very far from reality as far as the average Australian is at.''

Professor Reser said a ''remarkable'' finding was that 45 per cent reported direct personal experience with changes or events they thought were associated with a warming planet.

By contrast, the ratio in the US was about one-quarter, he said. Experiences included floods (29 per cent), drought (25 per cent), bushfires (23 per cent) and cyclones (18 per cent).

''There's a sort of cumulative experience,'' Professor Reser said. ''Many, many people have had direct experience of different kinds of extreme weather events.''

Some 75.7 per cent of Greens voters and 60.3 per cent of Labor selected the ''we are already feeling the effects'' option. Among Nationals supporters, 40.5 per cent picked the option but just 32.7 per cent of Liberal voters did.

The Climate Commission on Saturday said the length, extent and severity of the present heatwave was unprecedented and showed climate change was making extreme heat and bushfires worse.

A delayed monsoon over northern Australia has left a string of high-pressure systems to dominate weather patterns over the continent for a fortnight. Temperatures have nudged 50 degrees in some areas while the country posted a record average temperature of 40.33 degrees last Monday. Seven of the 20 hottest days by average maximum have a 2013 time stamp.

In a report called Off the Charts: Extreme Australian Summer Heat, one of the authors, David Karoly, says the heatwave has affected more than 70 per cent of Australia and long-standing temperature records have been broken. ''Climate change is increasing the risk of more frequent and longer heatwaves and more extreme hot days, as well as exacerbating bushfire conditions,'' Professor Karoly said.