A South Australian policeman offers a drink of water to a koala at the side of the road
A South Australian policeman offers a drink of water to a koala at the side of the road in Adelaide January 16, 2014. Reuters

Climate researchers have confirmed, the heat waves that plagued Australians in 2013 were a direct consequence of global warming. According to reports, five groups of climate scientists analysed the heat that ravaged Australia for most of 2013, which continued in 2014. It was so hot in the country in January that the Australian Open tennis tournament was shut down temporarily.

All of the researchers concluded that the heat waves in Australia would not have been as severe without the long-term warming caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. The University of Melbourne climate scientist David Karoly, who led some parts of the research, said in the same report that the intense heat waves in Australia would have been impossible without the impact of climate change.

The scientists based their findings on computer analyses of what the world would have been like if greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are absent. Researchers claim the recent study is strengthened by unanimous conclusion of papers written by experienced research teams around the world.

Martin Hoerling, a U.S.-based scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, agreed that the evidence in the research is "extremely strong." He has previously been skeptical of reported links between global warming and extreme weather events.

Out of the 10 research studies on heat waves included in one long report, five of them found clear links between climate change and weather events. One of the studies had found man-made global warming elevated the risk of heat waves "essentially 100 percent."

Previous reports said the hottest September on record in Australia was in 2013. Climate scientists had projected based from the UN climate change report that Australia will get hotter as greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase. A UN climate change report predicted that the world will become hotter by 3.3 to 5.6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Climate scientists fear that more heat waves in the country will result in more bushfires. This could affect Australia's agricultural productivity since global warming can reduce crop yields and extend droughts. The UN climate change report also predicted dire consequences like economic losses, poverty and mass migration to cooler and more abundant locations. Researchers believe the rising global temperatures may wipe out entire ecosystems and endanger animal and plant species.