Australia is now among the top five G20 nations most exposed to climate change, according to a new report from HSBC.

It leads the way in temperature increases since the previous survey in 2011, with a 0.39ºC decade-average rise to 18.9ºC.

“Our findings… coincide with the findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which noted that the current decade is Australia’s warmest decade since 1910, with a mean temperature anomaly of 0.48ºC above the long-term average,” the report says.

The country is rated second for declining water availability, behind Saudi Arabia, and is second behind China in terms of sensitivity to extreme weather.

“Temperature change is one of the key drivers behind Australia’s worsening in the overall vulnerability ranking from 10th most vulnerable to fifth most vulnerable relative to G20 peers,” the report says.

The top four are Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa and Turkey.

However, Australia has the greatest capacity to adapt, leading Canada, the US and the UK. Taking this into account, the nation is ranked 13th in terms of absolute vulnerability, with India, China and Indonesia top.