Rising temperatures are contributing to overall deterioration of Australia's environment and aggravating natural disasters, BTA reported, citing a government report.

Climate change is also causing the vast island continent's fragile highlands to slowly melt, while contributing to ocean acidification and sea-level rise.

Climatologist Ian Lowe called the report a "frightening warning signal" for Australia, whose economic growth depends heavily on gas and coal exports.  

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"The scale of the changes shows that strengthening our energy consumption is an urgent priority. We also need to reduce coal and gas exports," says the researcher. 

The report states that since records have been kept since 1910, Australia's climate has warmed by an average of 1.47 degrees Celsius. 

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the report was food for thought and reinforced the need for urgent climate action.

In recent years, Australia has experienced a series of extreme weather events associated with rising global temperatures. 

In that year, there were severe storms, heavy rains and floods in many places, which claimed lives.

In 2019 and 2020, devastating forest fires raged in the southeastern part of the country for several months, causing massive damage. 

The Great Barrier Reef has been undergoing "bleaching" since 2016 as a result of warming water temperatures.

"These changes are occurring at an increasingly rapid pace. The last decade has been marked by record extremes resulting in natural disasters that are being exacerbated by anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change," the report said. 

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his country was bidding to host the summit in 2026 in a bid to improve the image of Australia, which is seen as a laggard in the fight against climate change. 

Climatologists are calling on the country to "rapidly and aggressively" reduce its carbon emissions to limit further environmental degradation caused by the worsening of extreme weather events.

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