On Friday, Tasmania experienced its peak temperature since records began with levels hitting 41.8C.

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Essentially, he says that a dramatic temperature peak will be reached in years measured in high tens to low hundreds, and that the cooling period following will take anywhere from 100, 000 to 500, 000 years, depending on what we humans do right now and in the next decade about carbon emissions.

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The rate of greenhouse gas emissions is rising and we're rapidly approaching the date by which science suggests they need to peak if there's to be a reasonable chance of keeping the temperature rise under 2C.

BBC: Durban: Climate summit looks back and forward