The Philippines. Pakistan. New Orleans. Sri Lanka. All have suffered catastrophic disasters in recent times. And the emergence of “climate refugees” – populations displaced by extreme weather events…
Australia’s very hot January was followed by a very warm September and a worldwide record for November.
BaboMike/Flickr
Blair Trewin, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; David Jones, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Karl Braganza, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Neil Plummer, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Rob Smalley, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed 2013 as Australia’s hottest year since records began in 1910. Average temperatures over the continent have been 1.2C above the 1961-1990 average, breaking the previous…
Drought is part of life in Australia.
Flickr/Schilling 2
While much of Australia has received average to above average rainfall over recent months, parts of Australia such as western Queensland are in the middle of a drought. Drought has been a feature of the…
What is the relationship between carbon dioxide and temperature rise?
Werner Wittersheim
Humans are emitting CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As these gases build up they trap extra heat and make the climate warmer. But how much warmer? Scientists have long understood that…
Beachgoers try to beat the record September heat at Main Beach on the Gold Coast.
AAP/Dan Peled
Australia has experienced its hottest September on record, as well as rewriting the records for the hottest 12-month period for the second time this year. With an average temperature of 21.95C - 2.75C…
UPDATED: We were inundated with ideas for statements to check from Monday night’s Q&A on ABC TV. Here, our experts tackle four claims on three of the most requested topics. 1. Anthony Albanese: claims…
If you are one of the many people with a larger than normal heating bill for recent months, you would probably be under the impression that it has been exceptionally cold in the northern hemisphere. We’ve…
The price of Australian carbon permits is set for a steep drop after 2015 when it links to Europe’s fluctuating emissions market.
Flickr/PaulSteinJC
Australia’s key strategy to tackle climate change is looking shaky, after another price drop on the world’s biggest carbon market raised fresh doubts about the future of emissions trading schemes. In Europe…
Air pollution has been found to have affected coral growth in the Caribbean over many decades.
Lester Kwiatkowski, University of Exeter
Tiny particles of air pollution can stunt the growth of coral reefs, according to a [new study in Nature Geoscience](http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1780](http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1780). Using coral…
It’s getting trickier to forecast future weather, but new models are helping.
Jay Wood
Tea-leaves, entrails, cockatoos: we all want to forecast the future. Weather forecasts have become so commonplace we rarely think about the technology, research, computing power and millions of observations…