Australia: State of the Climate
February 3rd, 2019Australia: State of the Climate
Key points
Australia
- Australia’s climate has warmed just over 1 °C since 1910 leading to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events.
- Oceans around Australia have warmed by around 1 °C since 1910, contributing to longer and more frequent marine heatwaves.
- Sea levels are rising around Australia, increasing the risk of inundation.
- The oceans around Australia are acidifying (the pH is decreasing).
- April to October rainfall has decreased in the southwest of Australia. Across the same region May–July rainfall has seen the largest decrease, by around 20 per cent since 1970.
- There has been a decline of around 11 per cent in April–October rainfall in the southeast of Australia since the late 1990s.
- Rainfall has increased across parts of northern Australia since the 1970s.
- Streamflow has decreased across southern Australia. Streamflow has increased in northern Australia where rainfall has increased.
- There has been a long-term increase in extreme fire weather, and in the length of the fire season, across large parts of Australia.
Global
- Concentrations of all the major long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to increase, with carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations rising above 400 ppm since 2016 and the CO 2 equivalent (CO 2-e) of all gases reaching 500 ppm for the first time in at least 800,000 years.
- Emissions from fossil fuels continue to increase and are the main contributor to the observed growth in atmospheric CO2.
- The world’s oceans, especially in the southern hemisphere, are taking up more than 90 per cent of the extra energy stored by the planet as a result of enhanced greenhouse gas concentrations.
- Global sea level has risen by over 20 cm since 1880, and the rate has been accelerating in recent decades.
- Globally averaged air temperature has warmed by over 1 °C since records began in 1850, and each of the last four decades has been warmer than the previous one.
Future
Australia is projected to experience:
- Further increases in sea and air temperatures, with more hot days and marine heatwaves, and fewer cool extremes.
- Further sea level rise and ocean acidification.
- Decreases in rainfall across southern Australia with more time in drought, but an increase in intense heavy rainfall throughout Australia.