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Australia is on track for its hottest ever calendar year, the latest Australian Climate Council' s statement said on Monday.
The Australian Climate Council, formerly known as Australian Climate Commission, is an independent body after being dumped by the federal government in September. The commission was set up in 2011 by the former Labor government to increase public awareness of climate change science.
According to the statement, the Australian Climate Council's most recent report "Off the Charts" revealed that October was 1.43 degrees Celsius above the long-term average.
Professor Will Steffen from the council said in the statement that exceptionally warm weather continues across Australia.
"Off the back of the hottest September on record, October is also breaking records. We have set the record again for the warmest 12-month period on record, from Nov. 1, 2012 to Oct. 31, 2013, and we are on track for the hottest calendar year on record, " Steffen said.
Steffen emphasized that rapid and deep cuts in greenhouse emissions are required to reduce the risk of more severe extreme weather in the future.
"Over the month of October New South Wales experienced devastating bush fires very early in the fire season. This October was the second warmest on record in Sydney, at 3.6 degrees Celsius above the long-term average," he explained.
He confirmed that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report found that Australia will continue to experience increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
He called on the federal government to take some further measures. "Our major trading partners, particularly China and the United States, are now moving in the right direction. It is crucial that Australia steps up to the plate and plays its part," he said.
