Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds

CFA firefighters at work after the bushfire near Alexandra, Victoria. In the current climate, Australians should expect heatwaves similar to the January event about once every five years, the analysis suggests. Photograph: Michael Currie/Reuters

Human-caused global heating made the intense heatwave that affected much of Australia in early January five times more likely, new analysis suggests.

The heatwave earlier this month was the most severe since the 2019-20 black summer, with temperatures over 40C in Melbourne and Sydney, even hotter conditions in regional Victoria and New South Wales and extreme heat also affecting Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.