Evidence of climate change

Scientists warn that climate change is happening faster than we thought. We are already feeling the impacts and the risks are enormous.

Recent extreme weather in Australia

2002-ongoing: Widespread drought in eastern and southern Australia. Corals of the Great Barrier Reef are still recovering from a massive 2002 bleaching event, caused by unusually warm ocean waters. This worst-ever coral bleaching event affected an estimated 60 to 95 per cent of individual reefs.

2008, January-February. Floods cause widespread damage across south-east, far north, north and central Queensland. Natural disaster declared.

2007, June: Residents of the New South Wales Hunter region are battered by extreme storms and flash flooding that causes millions of dollars' damage to homes and business. During the storm, a large tanker is beached in Newcastle harbour.

2006, March: Severe tropical cyclone Larry rips through Queensland, prompting one of the biggest relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts ever mounted in Australia. Larry is graded a category five, the highest possible grading for a cyclone (Cyclone Tracy in 1974 was a category four).

2006, New Year's Day: Sydney had its hottest New Year's Day on record, topping at 44.2 degrees Celsius, and leading to power blackouts and train line shutdowns;  44  fires burn across New South Wales. Over the course of the year, drought intensifies over eastern and southern Australia.

2005 Australians experience their warmest year on record.

2003, January: Canberra blazes with bushfires that destroy more than 500 homes. The fires' unusual ferocity is attributed to climate change.

Read stories from people dramatically affected by climate change in Australia and the Pacific.

Global evidence

Respected UN scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have found "new and stronger evidence that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".

• The 1990s was the warmest decade on record. 2005 was the warmest year, followed by 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
• By the end of 2006, the 10 warmest years on record had all occurred in the previous 12 years.
  
• Snow and ice cover are decreasing as the planet's surface temperature rises.
• Sea levels are rising and the oceans are warming, causing coral bleaching.
• Regional climate changes affect many areas. Plant and animal populations are shifting and growing seasons are longer. Trees are flowering earlier than normal and birds are laying eggs earlier.

What the scientists say.