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Scientists warn that climate change is happening faster than we thought. Australia and the Pacific region are suffering the impacts.
Recent extreme weather: Australia and Pacific region
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Bushfires and floods, January-February 2009: More than 200 people die in bushfires in Victoria, Australia's worst ever natural disaster. More than 1800 homes are destroyed. The bushfires follow 2 weeks of heatwave in southern Australia. Temperatures reach 47°C and stay over 40°C for days on end. At the same time, in Queensland, floods affect 62% of the state, isolating towns and hundreds of homes. Flood damage exceeds $210 million.
Watch Reuters news video linking the two extreme events to climate change (duration 02:11)
February 2009: Torrential rain and flooding hit Solomon Islands. Continuous rain since December intensifies, causing flooding that kills 10 people, destroys houses and washes away bridges. Several thousand villagers are displaced from their homes, with others evacuated to the capital, Honiara. Most of the country's Guadalcanal province is declared a disaster area.
January 2009: Flash floods claim 8 lives in Fiji when tropical storms flood most of the South Pacific island nation. A state of emergency is declared. Rainfall records shows it is the wettest January in over a century.
2002-ongoing: Widespread drought dries up 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, October: The only Pacific scientist on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Professor Patrick Nunn, says the Pacific must realise that some places may not be habitable in 20 years, including Fiji’s Nadi town. He says, "In 2027, Nadi town will be below sea level. It is unlikely that Nadi will ever attract the funds to enable the construction and maintenance of engineer structures necessary to preserve it."
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.
