Climate Change Is So Severe That Australian Summers Are Now Twice As Long As Winters

Australian summers are now twice as long as our winters thanks to climate change, new research from The Australia Institute has found.

The report found that summers over the past two decades had increased by 31 days compared to summers from the years 1950 to 1969. Meanwhile, winters have shortened by 23 days over the same period.

The difference can be felt in Sydney, Melbourne and all other capital cities. In some regional areas, the seasonal change has been even more extreme, the report said.

“Temperatures which were considered a regular three month summer in the 1950s, now span from early to mid-November all the way to mid-March,” said Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program Director at the Australia Institute.

“Following the hottest summer on record, it commonplace to hear older Australians claim summers aren’t what they use do be. And they are right.

“Our findings are not a projection of what we may see in the future. Its happening right now. Summers have grown longer even in recent years, with the last five years facing summers twice as long as their winters.”

The report also noted that while the November bushfires may have occurred before the calendar summer, they were “well-within the new summer as caused by climate change.”

Analysts scraped the data from over 70 Bureau of Meteorology weather stations around the country, excluding those in tropical areas.

They reported that the change has already made agriculture less viable, and is putting strain on the electricity grid. Some outdoor activities may even become dangerous due to the heat.

The change has occurred with just one degree of global warming. Current policy puts us on track for 3-4 degrees of warming.

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