Australia will be hit by more frequent and severe extreme weather as a result of climate change, according to the Climate Commission.

Global warming has already contributed to the 2010/11 Queensland floods and the recent so-called “Angry Summer” of extreme temperatures, according to commission’s latest report, The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather.

It says greenhouse gases have created a climate system containing significantly more heat than 50 years ago, which has “loaded the dice” in favour of floods, cyclones, heatwaves and droughts.

Steps must be taken now to stabilise the country’s climate “for our children and grandchildren”, the commission says.

Global greenhouse gas emissions should be cut to almost zero by 2050, with Australia – the world’s 15th largest emitter – playing its part.

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