South Africa’s weather is very attractive to international visitors. Climate change could alter their perceptions unless mitigation strategies are put in place.
Dry period in semi-arid central Australia.
James Cleverly
Extreme wet years are getting wetter and more common. This means Australia’s terrestrial ecosystems will play a larger role in the global carbon cycle.
Water and agriculture is high on the agenda at this year’s climate talks.
Shutterstock
Jeremy Bird, International Water Management Institute
The current climate talks in Morocco are a golden opportunity for making strides on the adaptation of African agriculture. African countries need the tools necessary to do so.
The Millennium drought had a huge impact on the Murray-Darling river system.
suburbanbloke/Flickr/Wikimedia Commons
Droughts are much bigger and slower than other natural disasters that hit Australia - meaning that despite their huge impacts, we still haven’t figured out how best to protect ourselves.
Droughts in South Africa has led to coordinated joint planning and partnerships to combat the problem.
Stephanie Midgley
The Grampians, like much of Australia, has swung from Millennium Drought to Big Wet and back again, putting animal populations on a rollercoaster that could get worse as climate change bites.
Australia already has many plants that can cope with harsh conditions.
Shutterstock/Tero Hakala
Australia’s deserts can be a harsh environment but plant life still survives there. So why not use them to develop the next generation of drought-resistant crops?
Increasing land clearing could leave Australia hotter and drier.
Wilderness Society
2015 was the world’s hottest year on record. The US State of the Climate report has rounded up the litany of temperature and other records that were broken all over the globe.
People in Namibia are seeking ways to reduce vulnerability to problems like drought.
Shutterstock
Toxic algal blooms were unheard of in Australia’s major waterways before 1991. Now the Murray River has been struck by four major events in less than a decade, with more likely in the future.
Tasmania’s hydro power is dependent on rains.
Dam image from www.shutterstock.com
A new millennium-long record reveals that Australia has suffered longer droughts and wet periods than those recorded in the past century’s weather observations.
Despite increases in some areas, Australia’s tree cover is at its lowest level in 40 years.
Tree image from David Lade www.shutterstock.com
After some unusually wet years, our landscape and ecosystems have once again returned to poorer conditions that were last experienced during the Millennium Drought.
Barkindji protest outside Parliament in Canberra.
Murray Butcher
For the Barkindji people, the Darling River has been a symbol of Aboriginal survival since colonial times. Now, the once busy NSW town of Wilcannia is in danger of losing its water.