Australia could be 3.4 deg hotter by 2070: study
Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) has released a study that shows Australia’s mean temperature could rise by 5°C in the next 60 years.
Australia is already the driest continent on the Earth, and the effect of such temperature change, and the reduction in rainfall that results, could be devastating.
[Image source]
Australia is a major exporter of (clean and safe) food. But because of climate change, it may need to import basic foods - even within the next few years.
Everyone hoped that the current drought was broken when late winter rains fell in August. However, many of this year’s wheat crops have already failed, since there has been hot and dry weather since.
From the report’s summary findings:
If emissions are low, warming of between 1ºC and 2.5ºC is likely by around 2070 [...]. Under a high emission scenario, the best estimate warming is 3.4ºC, with a range of 2.2ºC to 5ºC.
Other findings:
- Droughts are likely to become more frequent, particularly in the south-west
- Evaporation rates are likely to increase, particularly in the north and east.
- High-fire-danger weather is likely to increase in the south-east
- Tropical cyclones are likely to become more intense
- Sea levels will continue to rise.
You can see the summary report here: Summary of the CSIRO Study.
A full report with more detailed graphs and maps can be found at the: Full Report.
Things are looking serious…
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Darmok said,
October 5, 2007 at 4:50 am
I know; people have to stop messing around and get serious too! My president, unfortunately, has been anything but serious.
zac said,
October 8, 2007 at 7:23 am
Hi Darmok. Yeh, well, we know how busy your president and my prime minister (John Howard) have been, beating up the Iraqis to guarantee even more CO2 pollution, that they failed to sign Kyoto and do anything constructive about climate change.
I’m very cynical that they are both trying to play catch-up, now that they can see political mileage in the issue. But it is too late. Howard will surely be trounced in the elections that must be held before the end of this year. Iraq and the climate are key issues.
I’m with you - if we all stopped binging on plastic consumer goods (ultimately derived from fossil fuels) and spent our time and money on more environmentally sustainable goods, the whole planet would be better off. And that means scrapping that SUV…