Australian fears over climate change gloom

Australia's previous government was one of the most 'climate change sceptic' of any nations. The new government has 'greener' credentials, but it has already been hit with alarming projections. The country, which has been hit by increasing droughts in recent years, could be facing much worse. A new report by Australia's leading scientists predicts that the country may be hit by a tenfold increase in heatwaves and that droughts may almost double in frequency and become more widespread because of climate change. The scientific projections envisage rainfall continuing to decline in a country that is already one of the hottest and driest in the world. It says that about 50 per cent of the decrease in rainfall in southwestern Australia since the 1950s has probably been due to greenhouse gases. Last month, Australia's agriculture minister, Tony Burke, described the report as alarming and said: " Parts of these high-level projections read more like a disaster novel than a scientific report. " The analysis, commissioned by the government as part of a review of public funding to drought-stricken farmers, was published days after another report, by Ross Garnaut, warned that Australia had to adopt a scheme for trading greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 or face the eventual destruction of sites including the Great Barrier Reef, the wetlands of Kakadu and the nation's food bowl, the Murray–Darling Basin. The prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who gained victory last November News focus on a green agenda, said the analysis by the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation was " very disturbing ". The reports will put pressure on him to act swiftly on his pledge for Australia to lead the world in tackling polluters. However, the rising cost of living has dented his government's popularity and his plans for a carbon trading scheme have begun to unnerve voters and industry. Rudd has acknowledged that tough debate lies ahead and has said the government will map out its policy options this month. Last month's report revealed that not only would droughts occur more often, but also the area affected would be twice as large as now. The proportion of the country having exceptionally hot years could increase from 5 per cent each year to as much as 95 per cent according to the projections. Two new reports suggest a bleak picture for the future climate in Australia, already suffering from …