At some point, climate change must be injected into the energy debate
Even before the weekend heatwave and the unseasonable Sydney bushfires in mid-April, the Bureau of Meteorology's climate experts had clearly seen enough.
The bureau broke with tradition at the end of last week and released a Special Climate Statement, before the remarkable autumn heatwave of 2018 had fully subsided.
With more records since, an update is likely within days. Notable numbers include Australia beat its previous hottest April day by more than 0.6 degrees, with the whole country averaging just a tad under 35 degrees on April 9.
During the event, Victoria broke its April record for heat and set its 10 hottest April day-time temperatures at various sites.
photo credit: Tim J Keegan