Fresh climate warning for Australia

Reports warn Australia will become hotter and drier

By CNN's Grant Holloway

CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- Australia's leading scientific organization has issued a dire warning on climate change, predicting the continent's average temperature could rise as much 6 degrees (Celsius) over the next 70 years.

The government-funded Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) released its five-yearly Climate Change Projections report Tuesday, saying Australia will become hotter and drier in coming decades.

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"Warmer conditions will produce more extremely hot days and fewer cold days," Dr Peter Whetton, from the atmospheric research division, said.

For example, a city such as Perth in Western Australia, which currently gets around 15 days per summer with temperatures over 35 degrees, can expect more than 20 such days by 2030 and nearly 40 per summer by 2070.

Decrease in moisture

Whetton said the climate changes would not be the same everywhere across the country, with some northern areas getting more rain and others getting less. But there would be an overall decrease in moisture for the continent.

"Evaporation will increase over most of the country. When combined with changes in rainfall, there is a clear decrease in available moisture," he said.

Whetton said the culprit for the climate changes was rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Sea levels around Australia will also rise, the report says.

Whetton predicts sea levels could rise by up to 88 centimeters (3 feet) by 2100, or as little as 9 centimeters, from 1990 levels.

Kyoto stance criticized

Australia struck a special deal at Kyoto to increase its greenhouse emissions

The CSIRO report comes as criticism mounts concerning the conservative Howard government's stance on the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the protocol, industrialized countries must reduce their emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels, however the Bush Administration in the United States has pulled out of the agreement.

While Australia has said it will work towards its Kyoto targets, Australia extracted a special deal that allows it to increase emissions by 8 per cent by around 2010.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has also said he "understands" the U.S. position on Kyoto, saying leaving developing countries out of the agreement will simply export "dirty" industries to those countries.

Report a 'wake-up call'

Greens Senator Bob Brown warns of economic consequences

Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown said Tuesday the CSIRO report was "a wake-up call" to both the Howard Government and the Australian Labor Party.

"The report shows the consequences will be devastating on Australia, not just on the environment but on the economy and jobs as well," Brown said.

'With increased risk of cyclones and high numbers of extremely hot days, Australia's agricultural industry, as well as our coral reef, tropical forests, alpine ecosystems, and wildlife are threatened."

Rising sea levels are of particular to concern to many low-lying Pacific Island nations, many of which face total economic ruin if climate predictions prove correct.

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