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Australia is being hit by extreme weather events on all fronts.
Across the ditch there's been flooding in North Queensland, cyclones in the Western Australia and heatwaves fuelling bushfires across Tasmania, New South Wales, and Victoria.
But climate scientists say this isn’t just an unusual summer – this is the 'new normal'.
"We see these events coming sometimes in clusters," said Professor Kris Helgen, chief scientist at the Australian Museum.
"The reason it seems like they are piling on top of each other is because they are. A warming world fuels all extremes – stronger cyclones, hotter heatwaves, longer droughts."
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s latest State of the Climate report paints a grim picture.
According to the report, Australia's temperatures have already risen by 1.51C since 1910, and the warming rate of the Tasman Sea is twice the global average.
"Our normal is changing," said Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines.
"With a warmer climate, we know more intense rainfall is coming, longer heatwaves are coming, more significant bush fires are coming as well."
New Zealand is also feeling the impact – 2024 was the 10th warmest year on record, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
While both sides of the Tasman have always experienced heatwaves, cyclones and floods, scientists say climate change is making these events more severe and frequent.
"In Australia, we've always had heatwaves, bush fire seasons and heavy rainfall," said Dr Frederik Saltre, a climate biologist at the Australian Museum.
"But climate change takes those events and puts them on steroids. We’ve been observing this for decades – it makes these disasters more dangerous and more intense."
This year alone, Australia has battled a deadly mix of disasters. Tropical Cyclone Kirrily battered Queensland, record floods swamped Townsville earlier this month, while ex-tropical Cyclone Zelia barrelled through Western Australia last week.
Extreme heatwaves also shut down infrastructure in Sydney, all while bush fires raged across Victoria and New South Wales.
Climate scientists say extreme weather isn’t just getting worse – it’s also shifting.
"Seasonality is changing, and I think people can see this happening in their lives," said Helgen.
"You realise that some of the things we've come to rely on in the calendar, how we can imagine the temperature or the weather, that those things are changing."
Surface air temperatures globally were 1.75C above pre-industrial levels, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
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Thu, Feb 6
The continued deluge has led to swollen waterways with major flood warnings in place for the Herbert River, the Ross and Bohle River, the Horton River and the Upper Burdekin River.
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Mon, Feb 3
Explainer
Temperatures in some areas were as much as 15°C above average in recent days.
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August 27, 2024
Helgen warned that will impact everything from food security to urban planning, adding that economies, infrastructure, and daily life will all need to adapt.
"If the weather as we know it, the climate as we know it, is changing, that will affect everything. That affects how our societies operate, that affects how our economies operate, things like big deals, where do you build homes? You know, how do you expand cities?"
