The current extreme heatwave conditions across southern Australia should be no surprise, says climate change commentator and Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic, Professor Kevin Parton.

 

"As a species we seem to have made the decision to continue along the path of climate change. Two predicted consequences of this are that weather will become more extreme and that there will be more instances of extreme weather," said Professor Parton, a senior researcher with CSU's Institute for Land, Water and Society.   

 

"So why should we be so surprised when we are in the middle of extreme weather such as the current heatwave?"

 

Professor Parton believes that as we have accepted climate change, people should expect more heat, more cold, more wet, more dry, more wind, more bushfires, and more floods, and so we should be prepared for these events.

 

"But as a species we seem to live from crisis to crisis. Once we get through a disaster, we seem to have a memory loss about it, and just go back to our normal lives," he said.

 

"We need to better learn the lessons from the current extreme circumstances and establish systems to respond more effectively in future."

 

Professor Parton asserts that while we must do what we can to alleviate the suffering of so many affected by the current heatwave conditions, we must see that adapting to climate change just makes sense.