 Australia
July 15, 2008
Mr Kevin Hennessy, Principal
Researcher, explains why farmers and the Government have reacted
with alarm to a new joint report from
CSIRO and the Bureau of
Meteorology, which indicates that hot periods and low rainfall
years which have occurred every 20 years may become much more
frequent.
'An assessment of the impact of climate change on the
nature and frequency of exceptional climatic events' was
prepared by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology for the
Australian Government's National Review of Drought Policy.
The analysis shows that the real extent and frequency of
exceptionally hot years have been increasing rapidly over recent
decades, and that trend is expected to continue.
The researchers also found that only some parts of the country
will be affected by more frequent dry, hot periods, and that
climate change through human induced greenhouse gas emissions is
not always the culprit.
An assessment of the
impact of climate change on the nature and frequency of
exceptional climatic events and accompanying
Supplementary Information, prepared by
CSIRO and the
Bureau of Meteorology for the Australian Government's
National Review of Drought Policy. Funding for the
report was provided by the
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
(DAFF).
Report:
www.daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/721285/csiro-bom-report-future-droughts.pdf
Supplementary information:
www.bom.gov.au/climate/droughtec/suppinfo.pdf
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