Australia's unseasonably warm end to winter is a huge concern for climate experts: 'It means bad things'

The unseasonably warm winter we've been experiencing in Australia is a huge concern for climate experts, yet it doesn't come as a surprise.

While the warm temperatures may come as a pleasant surprise, ANU Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, who specialises in climate extremes, has warned 9News that a winter "heat wave" is evidence climate change is nearing an irreversible boiling point.

"It's unseasonable to be this warm this early. It's nice, everyone's getting caught up in the fact spring started early this year, but from my perspective, it's concerning," Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.

Professor Mark Howden, the director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions, agreed the warm winter was worrying.

"What we are experiencing is almost like summer temperatures in winter and that should be a cause for concern," he told 9News.

"There's a long-term trend towards increased temperatures in Australia, as there is globally. And what we'll see now is just a foretaste of what will come, because we're not reducing our greenhouse gas emissions at the moment."

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