Sept. 15 (UPI) -- More than 1.5 million Australians will be at risk from sea level rise by 2050, amid an uncertain future in which climate change will make extreme weather events both more frequent and more severe, according to the country's first national, comprehensive climate report.
The 72-page National Climate Risk Assessment published Monday found every part of society was already feeling the impact of climate change-fueled floods, cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and bushfires and that these hazards would spread, affecting people and places that hadn't previously experienced them.
Warning that past weather was no longer on its own a reliable indicator of future risk, the report by the Australian Climate Service warned the country was currently experiencing "compounding and cascading hazards" that would increase going forward, posing risks to people, regions and Australia's way of life.
Already disadvantaged individuals and households will likely be most affected, while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are singled out as facing singular risks to their efforts to achieve self-determination and prospects for social and physical health and well-being.
Coastal communities and cities will be impacted "significantly" by sea level rise and increased coastal hazards, with the report warning of an increase in such settlements in high and very high risk areas across Australia.
