A joint peak body climate report published every two years has found continual change in Australia’s weather and climate.
The State of the Climate Report 2024 has found an increase in extreme heat events, longer fire seasons, more intense heavy rainfall and a sea level rise.
The report was released by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology on Wednesday, October 30, and draws on the latest national and international climate research, monitoring and projection information.
The report said the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continued to rise, with 2023 the warmest year on record globally.
Scientists found the oceans around Australia were continuing to warm, with increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to more acidic oceans, particularly south of Australia.
CSIRO research manager Jaci Brown said warming of the ocean had contributed to longer and more frequent marine heatwaves, with the highest average sea surface temperature on record occurring in 2022.
“Increases in temperature have contributed to significant impacts on marine habitats, species and ecosystem health, such as the most recent mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef this year,” Dr Brown said.
“Global mean sea level is increasing, having risen by around 22 centimetres since 1900, increasing the risk of inundation and damage to coastal infrastructure and communities.
“Half of this rise has occurred since 1970.”
Bureau of Meteorology climate services manager Karl Braganza said Australia was continuing to warm, with eight of the nine warmest years on record occurring since 2013.
“This warming has led to an increase in extreme fire weather, and longer fire seasons across large parts of the country,” Dr Braganza said.
The report describes the shift towards drier conditions between April to October across the south-west and south-east, and reduced rainfall in south-west Australia now seems to be a permanent feature of the climate.
“The lower rainfall in the cooler months is leading to lower average streamflow in those regions, which can impact soil moisture and water storage levels and increase the risk of drought,” Dr Braganza said.
“Droughts this century have been significantly hotter than those in the past; however, when heavy rainfall events occur they are becoming more intense, with an increase of around 10 per cent or more in some regions.
“The largest increases are in the north of the country, with seven of the 10 wettest wet seasons since 1998 occurring in northern Australia.”
Although Australian emissions have declined since 2005, Australia is projected to see more extremely hot days and fewer extremely cool days.
The 2024 report can be found at bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/