Herald Sun
By: Ben Packham
Australia has sweltered through its hottest decade on record.
The weather bureau's annual climate statement also confirmed 2009 was the nation's second hottest year to date -- and Victoria's warmest July-December period.
It was expected to be the world's fifth hottest year since records began.
Heatwaves hit in summer; and in winter, dust storms wreaked havoc; and there were drought and floods.
The drought continued across the nation's south-east, and rainfall was below average across Australia.
The statement said every decade since the 1940s had been warmer than the previous one. "This suggests an apparent shift in Australia's climate from one characterised by natural variability to one increasingly characterised by a trend to warmer temperatures,'' it said.
The latest evidence of rising temperatures comes as the Federal Government tries to gain public support for its Emissions Trading Scheme.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the weather bureau's climate statement highlighted the failure of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to support action on climate change. "The fact is that in order to address dangerous climate change you need to have a price for carbon,'' Mr Garrett said.
"But the Opposition is in complete disarray with an Opposition Leader who doesn't believe that climate change is happening, who says that the world's warming has stopped.
"And yet today our own weather bureau tells us that in fact the world's warming is increasing and clearly we need to do something about it now.''
Last month, Mr Abbott said "the world's warming has stopped''.
Yesterday he appeared to back away from the statement. "My argument isn't with the meteorologists,'' Mr Abbott said.
But the weather report card didn't soften his opposition to the ETS. "My argument is against the Government's great big new tax. If we are going to tackle climate change, let's take direct action,'' he said.
The weather bureau's climate statement found that 2009 was 0.9C warmer than average. The second half of the year was especially warm, with an unusual winter heatwave hitting in August.
It was Australia's hottest August on record.
Victoria had its hottest day on record -- 48.4C -- and Melbourne had its hottest-ever day of 46.4C.